Gone for Good
by gillyflower34
Summary: Story will be begin right before the start of season one. Lots of pre-apocalypse flashbacks, which will be a little AU. Merle is selling drugs to a girl who both brothers become close with. After Merle disappears, she figures out she is pregnant with his baby. Daryl promises to take care of her. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

10 Years Before the Outbreak

RickyJo wiggled her shoulders and tugged at her dress, trying to find a way to make the dumb thing more comfortable. Like most of her fitted clothes, the dress was just too tight in the chest. She tried taping or strapping her boobs down, but nothing worked and the stupid things just kept right on getting bigger. Her cousin would love to have them, especially since hers were barely a B cup, it was too bad they couldn't trade. Jessica spent hours a day preening and primping, covering her freckles with makeup and taming her wiry mop of rusty curls. How her cousin spent the whole morning in the barn and still looked better than her, she could never figure out.

Pulling at the dress again, and then plopping down on the couch, not caring if she rumpled it, RickyJo tried to remember why she was even wearing it. Overalls and a tank top is what she liked, with her grubby old cowboy boots. She sighed. Her grandmother had asked her to dress up pretty for her. The doctors said the chemo was working, but to RickyJo, the woman just seemed to be getting weaker and sicker. She had been lying on the couch with her scarf on her head, covered in a crocheted blanket that they had made together years ago. _Wear something pretty for me, baby girl._ She said it made her happy to see her girls growing up into beautiful women. Unable to say anything even close to no, RickyJo had poked through her closet and put on one of her sunday church dresses. The smile on the old woman's face had been worth it, but why she couldn't change before they came out to the cabin, she didn't know. Jessica had been acting all funny about it, rushing her out of the house in her dress. RickyJo could read her cousin well, and she had a sneaking suspicion that something strange was going on.

Hearing the rumble of a motorcycle, Jessica was up and rushing over to the door. She was all primped up, as usual. And she had taken off the blouse she had been walking around her grandparents house in as soon as they were out the door. Now she was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a halter top that didn't leave much to the imagination. RickyJo had no idea why her cousin even bothered, its not like the jerk was taking her anywhere except to the bedroom to fuck her. She would be better off just answering the door naked.

"When that fucktard gets here, I'm telling him if he wants to fuck you he has to give us a discount on the weed," RickyJo told her cousin. Jessica looked at her in horror. She really hoped her idiot cousin wasn't going to embarrass her.

"Shut up Ricky," she hissed, "He's here." RickyJo started laughing, while Jessica peeked out the window, trying not to look too eager.

"What is he wearing this time?," RickyJo asked her. The dude had good weed, but usually showed up looking like one of Remy's buddies from Higher Learning. Nothing said I don't have a brain in my head like dressing like a neo nazi. Once he had been wearing leather chaps. RickyJo had held it together until he went in the bedroom with Jess and then she had gone out on the porch and laughed herself silly. Then she had made fun of her cousin for two weeks straight. Jessica turned to RickyJo, giving her a pleading look.

"He brought his brother over," she told the other girl, "So be nice."

"Why the fuck did he bring his brother?," RickyJo asked. Suddenly this was all making sense. And it was pissing her off. Jessica tricked her, fucking tricked her. And she had gotten Nana to help her too. Jessica knew some guy was coming over and thats why they had tricked her into wearing this dumb dress. Now she looked like she had known about it and dressed up special for him. As if that would happen. If she had known Merle was bringing over his idiot junior nazi brother, she wouldn't have come out her at all, let alone in a damn sunday church dress.

"Maybe you will like him," Jessica suggested, enjoying the other girl's discomfort. "Either way at least you look nice." RickyJo gave her cousin the finger and crossed her long legs, trying to pull her dress down to cover more of them. Jessica smiled, it wasn't often that she could get one over on her cousin, and this was a good one. Besides, it wouldn't hurt her any to look pretty and meet a cute guy. And he was cute too, Jess thought as she peeked at them climbing off the bike and walking up to the cabin.

Jessica opened the door and wrapped her arms around the older of the two men, kissing him on the cheek. He gave her ass a squeeze. Always the gentleman, RickyJo thought. His brother came in behind him, looking around curiously at the cabin. _At least he is not wearing leather chaps._ Actually, except for the leather jacket, which didn't look too bad, he was dressed in tan pants and a white tshirt. He had short scruffy looking blonde hair and some soft looking hair on his face that was just a little darker than the hair on his head. He wasn't staring and talking directly to her breasts yet either, unlike his brother who she was pretty sure had never looked her in the eyes.

"Damn girl," Merle said to the girl, "who hit you with a bar of soap." He wasn't joking either. She was looking good. Usually she had shit on her boots and her hair in a sloppy ponytail. Now she had sandals on and a dress. The dress looked like the fancy printed kind that little girls wore to church on sundays with matching hat ribbons and mary janes with lacy white socks. There was something almost pornographic about seeing such a curvy girl in a dress like that, her tits all pressed together, with her skinned knees and her chipped red nail polish. She still didn't have her face done up, but she looked like she had a little lip gloss on and her hair fell down in soft golden waves around her face, spilling down behind her shoulders. Truthfully, he had been imediately attracted to her, but found out quick she didn't put out and her cousin did. He wasn't sure if Daryl would have any better luck with the girl, but since all he was doing anyway was sitting at home spanking his monkey, Merle figured he might as well bring him along and find out.

Daryl looked around the cabin. It was a really cool place, the kind of house he wouldn't mind having some day. The downstairs was one big room, with a large kitchen area that was tiled with a drain and a huge butcher block island. Some people would ask what that was for when they came over, but Daryl knew right away it was for processing deer meat. The rest of the place was hardwood floor with some old carpets covering it near where the couches were. There was a huge gun safe against one wall and a stone fireplace. Plus a big bookshelf covered the wall oppposite the fireplace and was filled with books that didnt look decorative but well loved. Through the windows in the back he could see a big wooden deck that held some lounge chairs and a big outdoor dining table and chairs. The place looked lived in and comfortable, but well taken care of.

Merle looked at Daryl and breathed a small sigh of disgust. He had brought Daryl here to meet this girl, and he hadn't even introduced himself. Instead he was staring around at the house with his mouth open like a fucking catfish. He elbowed Daryl a little in the ribs, making him jump. Then he turned to RickyJo, who was staring at them both. She narrowed her eyes a little, evaluating them.

"This here is my brother," Merle said to the girl, giving Daryl a little shove. She stood up and closed the few steps between them.

"Does he have a name?," she asked, "or should I call him Merle's brother?" Merle elbowed him again. He shuffled his feet a little and then nervously stuck out his hand.

"Daryl," he said. He knew Merle had said this girl was hot, but he said that about every chick he tried to set him up with and one of them had only had three teeth. This girl was actually hot. She was also wearing a sundress, which no girl had ever dressed up in to meet him. The girl took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

"RickyJo," she said. Then she turned to Merle and said, "Come on, I got your money in the kitchen." Daryl watched as his brother followed her into the kitchen and she pulled down a mason jar from the top of the fridge and counted out his money. "If I give you and extra ten," she asked, "will you roll it into joints for me?"

"Daryl can do it," he told her. She nodded and pulled back the extra bill then walked over and handed it to Daryl. He stuffed the bill into the back pocket of his pants. Merle rolled his eyes. Dumbass should have offered to do it for her for free. He tried to help his brother when it came to women, but there was no cure for stupid. Merle sat down on the couch and got the baggie of weed out of his jacket. What two girls did with that much weed he had no idea, but they bought it like clockwork every two weeks. They always paid cash and never called him at four in the morning geeking out asking him to front them. It was a bit of a drive to get out here, but since he was making money and getting laid, he didn't mind at all.

Jessica sat down next to Merle, and he slid his hand up her thigh. She was looking like a big slut, as usual. Her shirt was the kind that tied around the neck and waist, leaving her back and stomach exposed. Her jeans were tight and low, and showed her thong and most of her ass when she leaned forward on the couch. Her hair was straight this time, instead of fluffing up around her head in a mass of curls. She had the reddest red hair Merle had ever seen, it reminded him of the orange color they put on hunting jackets so people wouldn't accidentally shoot you in the woods. Merle leaned in a spoke quietly into the girl's ear.

"Lets go upstairs first and smoke later," he suggested. She smiled and stood up, taking his hand and heading for the stairs. RickyJo watched them go. What the big thrill he cousin got out of having sex with random dudes, she woud never understand. She would rather let someone blow their nose on her face. Merle's brother sat on the floor next to her legs and started taking the pot out of the bag and breaking it up so he could roll it into joints for them. He was trying not to stare at her legs, even though they were long and tan and only a few inches away from his face. Her knees were scabbed up and she had bruises on her shins. She stood up suddenly and stepped over him, walking into the kitchen area. She got two mason jars from the cupboard and plunked a few ice cubes into each one. Then she filled them with iced tea from a gallon jar that was in the fridge. Grabbing a lighter from a drawer in the kitchen, she picked up the glasses and bumped the drawer closed with her hip. Stepping over Daryl again, instead of going around, she set the glasses down with a clink and grabbed one of the joints he already had rolled.

RickyJo put her feet up on the edge of the table and leaned back into the couch. She lit the joint and took a long drag, holding it in and blowing it out slowly. Tapping his shoulder gently to get his attention, she handed the joint to Daryl. After a quick puff, he handed it back and went back to rolling up the rest of the smoke for her. She watched him, his back was tensed with concentration, and the way the tip of his tounge flicked out to wet the paper. He seemed nice so far, but she kept a wary on him just the same. Because Jessica slept around with anyone and everyone, guys often expected she would do the same. A few had acted nice until they had her alone and then had gotten quite forceful with her.

Finishing up the last joint, Daryl used his arms to lift himself up and onto the couch. He leaned forward and sipped his tea, then set it back down. They passed the joint back and forth quietly for a few minutes. He kept trying to think of something to say to her, but nothing was coming to mind.

"What do you have in the gun safe?," he asked her. She giggled a little.

"Guns," she said, laughing more. What did he think was in there, the gimp from Pulp Fiction? He felt himself relax a little, and he laughed at himself. It was a pretty stupid question. Some not so quiet noises were coming from upstairs now, making them both laugh more.

"You like to shoot?," RickyJo asked him. It took him a minute to figure out what she was talking about. Shoot what, his shit? He had definately had enough to smoke. Of course he had just asked her about the gunsafe.

"Yes," he said. He noticed she kept tugging on the hem on her dress, trying to cover more of her legs. And everytime she moved it kept creeping back up.

"We have a gun range," she said tentatively, "do you want to go shooting? I mean I guess we could stay and listen to your brother have sex with my cousin." Daryl smiled at her. This was interesting. He had never gone shooting with a girl before.

"Yes," he told her, "I think I would."

"You sure?," she asked, "sometimes he starts yelling shit when he gets really excited."

"I'm sure," he said, laughing. This girl was funny. Maybe coming here had not been such a terrible idea after all. RickyJo opened the safe and got out a gun bag. She grabbed her rifle and a smaller handgun. Daryl noticed he could tell which ones were hers, they had custom pink camo leather grips. Then she let him pick out what he wanted and put them in the bag with some ammunition. He carried the bag, and they went out behind the cabin where she had a golf cart parked. She drove them over to what looked to be a pretty legit shooting range. It was a covered wooden deck with paper targets that you could reel in and some fences and stands where you could set up bottles or cans. This girl obviously knew what she was doing, he better shoot straight or he was going to make an ass out of himself.

Merle had finished up with Jessica. He laid there a while next to her, not because he liked holding her, but because he liked fucking her and wanted to be able to do it again the next time he came over. Girls got pissed if you leaped right up as soon as you got done. He didn't hear any talking coming from downstairs, which was either a really good sign or a really bad sign. Jessica got up to use the bathroom, which meant he could make his exit now without pissing her off. Merle crept down the stairs. If that Ricky chick was naked down there, he wouldn't mind a look at that. That dress she had on had been more than sexy and while he pumped into her cousin, he had been thinking about her long tan legs and the white lines her bathing suit had left across her chest.

The sneaking had been a waste. He didn't know where his brother was, but he wasn't on the couch fucking Jessica's hot ass cousin. What a fucking waste. He saw half a joint in the ashtray, so wherever they went, they were high a a couple kites. This was some good shit. He picked the joint up and light it. Jessica came downstairs, back in her little super slut outfit. He bet those tight ass jeans didn't feel so good now after the pounding she just got.

"Where's my cousin?," she asked the man.

"Wasn't my turn to watch her," he replied with some sarcasm. He would like to know where those assholes took off to. The girls already paid him for the weed, and now that he got his rocks off, he was ready to get the hell out of here and go home. Maybe have a few drinks and fire up the grill, cook some venison steaks. Jessica cocked her head a little to the side and looked at him.

"I bet I know where they went," she said, "Listen." He listened. At first he wasn't sure what he was listening for, then he heard the gunshots. They sounded like they were not coming from too far away either. "They are out at the damn gun range."

"You have a gun range?," Merle asked her. She nodded.

"Come on," she told him, "just bring the joint with us." Merle got up and followed her out the back door. He had been coming around here for at least six months and this was the first he had heard of any gun range. It didn't surprise him though. He had to come through a large iron gate to get onto the property, and follow a winding road back to the cabin. The place was full to the damn brim with deer, and not the usual sort that he saw hunting around the area. Since he started coming here, he had seen at least two different kids of deer that he had never seen before, and he had seen a lot of deer. He guessed it was some sort of game preserve where rich people who didn't know what they were doing would pay to go hunting. What the girls were doing out in the middle of it he didn't know, but he guessed maybe one of their dads owned the place or something. They obviously had money.

He followed her along a wide path, the shots getting louder and louder. When they got there he saw Daryl and RickyJo with ear covers on, firing away at bottles and cans and little paper targets. They looked like they were having fun. And seeing a girl in a sunday church dress shoot a hunting rifle was something new. Looked like she was hitting was she was aiming for too.

Merle walked up the steps onto the wooden platform. RickyJo gave him a smile. Then she pulled the covers off her ears. Daryl saw him, and did the same.

"Good shooting," Merle told them. Daryl offered up the gun he had been using and handed Merle the ear covers. RickyJo looked on with some interest. Daryl had been a much much better shot than she had expected. She had been very impressed. He was the only boy she had met that could shoot as well as she could, and maybe better. When she asked, he told her his brother taught him. Knowing that, she wanted to see what Merle could do. While she knew she was a good shot, RickyJo wasn't overly cocky, and was always interested in learrning something new, especially from someone more experienced. She watched the man. With his ridiculous biker getup, to her he had looked like a city boy who was trying to look tougher than he was. Watching him shoot, she realized maybe she had judged the man too quickly. He finished off his round and turned to see that RickyJo looked impressed and Jessica was trying not to look bored.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?," RickyJo asked him.

"The army," he told her, "I was a sharp shooter. Now lets see what you've got." She shook her head.

"I'm not that good," she said. She wasn't trying to compliment him. It was just the truth. Her poppa was the best shot she had ever seen and Merle was much better.

"You're not that bad either," he told the girl, "lets see." She turned and picked up her rifle. He smiled a little when he saw the pink grips. Then she turned and fired at a few of the targets, hitting most of them. Merle moved in an corrected her stance. She had never been that close to the man before and having him touching her felt strange. She wasn't sure if she liked it. Daryl watched them, feeling like the biggest idiot ever for not thinking of trying to help her like that. They had been having a good time before Merle showed up and started putting his hands all over her.

"Aim for that furthest bottle," he told the girl. She looked at him skeptically. Her and Daryl had been aiming for that one all afternoon. It was too far away.

"Go on," he said. "Take a deep breath. Let it out. Then shoot." He stood back a little and watched her. She was standing the way he showed her. Then she shot and the bottle exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

Present Day

RickyJo had taken the summer off from teaching and research. She had been thinking about going home to spend the time with her Nana, but decided at the last minute to take an extended camping trip. What had happened between her and Daryl in Mexico had bothered her more than she wanted to admit, and she needed some time to think. Jessica and her girls had come for a few weeks, but they had left about two weeks ago. Now it was time to go home and face the music. As she pulled her jeep out, with her camping equipment packed on the small trailer in back, she finally turned her phone back on. It powered up, making its silly little noises. Then she saw it. Two hundred missed calls. This thing had to be broken. She checked the call log. About a hundred of them were from Daryl. The other two hundred were from Jessica and Merle. At first she thought Daryl might have been blowing up her phone because he was upset, but now she was worried something might really be wrong. She called his phone first, nothing but a busy signal. Then she tried Jess. No anwser. She called Merle, who picked up on the first ring.

"Where the fuck have you been!," He screamed into the phone. Nice way to anwser your phone, she thought.

"Camping," RickyJo told him.

"Where are you," he asked.

"Heading down from the mountains."

"What road are you taking into the city?" Now this was getting weird, she thought. What the hell does Merle care what road I am driving on. As she pulled up, she noticed that the traffic was backed way up. Maybe he had wanted to warn her about this.

"The old highway, Fisher Road," she told him.

"Is it all backed up," he asked.

"Yes," she said, "why?"

"You fucking stay there we are coming to get you," he screamed into the phone. She meant to tell him that wasn't necessary, but her phone made a funny beep noise and when she looked at it, the call had dropped. She tired to get him back, but got nothing but a busy signal. Then she tried Daryl and Jess again, also nothing but beep beep beep beep. Well, she couldn't go anywhere anyway so she might as well stay here. People had started backing up behind her. RickyJo looked around at the cars, noticing some strange things. These people all seemed to have a lot of shit in their cars. Like the backseats were all filled up. All the cars were like that too, not just one or two. The traffic clearly wasn't moving anywhere, she could see people a ways up out of their cars walking around. She cut off her engine and tried to see if she could get something on the radio. Nothing but the emergency broadcast was on every single station. Now RickyJo was starting to get a little creeped out.

She got out of her car and stood up on the hood, trying to get a look. Nothing but cars and cars lined up for miles, heading into the city. There was a hispanic family in the car parked next to her. A mom, a dad and two little girls. The parents were being more discreet, but the little girls were staring openly at her tattoos. It didn't bother her, kids always stared. If she didn't want people looking at her tattoos, she wouldn't have gotten them. The mother spoke to the girls in spanish, telling them not to stare. RickyJo smiled and called to the woman in the same language, telling her it was fine. The woman smiled and walked over, speaking to RickyJo in english now.

"Are you waiting to get into the refugee center?," she asked. RickyJo was confused. Why would she be going to a refugee center.

"What do you mean?," she asked the woman, "What is going on?" The woman looked at her like she was crazy stupid. A blonde girl that looked about twenty walked over.

"What do you mean whats going on," the girl asked her, "where have you been for the last month?"

"Camping with no phone and no radio," RickyJo explained to the girl. The girl looked shocked.

"You really have no idea whats going on?," she asked her. Another blonde girl walked up, they came from an RV that was parked behind the hispanic family. The woman stuck out her had to RickyJo.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Andrea. This is Amy." RickyJo smiled at the woman and introduced herself. The woman had a direct way of speaking that RickyJo liked. Andrea thought for a minute about what the best way would be to explain all this craziness to someone who didn't know what was going on.

"There was some kind of weird outbreak," Andrea started, "first they were saying it was some kind of rabies. It is super contagious. Some places have been overrun with infected people. The last thing on the radio was they were telling everyone to go to the refugee center in Atlanta."

"People are saying the virus brings people back from the dead," Amy added. RickyJo looked at the women and tried to decide how much of this to believe. It was obvious the refugee center part was true. And the people on the road here looked scared of something. Merle had seemed worried on the phone as well. But people coming back from the dead sounded very far fetched. She heard the little Hispanic girls talking to their mother. They were asking for food and drinks and she was telling them she didn't have anything. RickyJo got a few bottles of water out of a case she still had left from her camping trip. She handed them to the girls with some granola bars. Their father thanked her profusely. Then she offered some to Andrea and Amy, who took them gratefully and let her use the bathroom in the camper, which she knew now belonged to an older man named Dale.

They had sat around talking for a long while. There really wasn't anything else to do. The older man had been listening to one of the kinds of radios that truckers use but hadn't heard anything of value. RickyJo looked around. They had all been sitting there for hours and hours and people were starting to get panicky and more scared than they already were. She got her handgun out of the glove compartment of her car and put in in a holder on her waist. Andrea saw this and went to get her gun, sticking it in the back of her pants.

"If the shit really hits the fan," RickyJo told the woman, "I got a rifle in the trunk too." Andrea laughed. She had seen the woman's tattoos and misjudged her at first. Thinking she was some kind of starving artist or drug addict. From their pleasant chat, she now knew the woman taught Biology at the Georgia State University and worked in the lab there. She also ran an online business selling heirloom and specialty seeds for people to buy and plant in their gardens. RickyJo had been impressed that the woman was a lawyer. And not some white collar, in it for the money lawyer, but a civil rights attorney. The two women were having a friendly debate about the politics of immigration when RickyJo spotted a man coming that looked like he may be drunk. He was off to the side of the road near the woods, and stumbling around. As he got closer she could see that he was very dirty and his clothes were torn. People were getting into their cars and locking the doors as he approached. The man walked up into the road, pressing his face against the windows of the car of the hispanic family, banging on the windows and making the girls scream.

"Hey asshole," RickyJo screamed at the man, "Piss off out of here before you get more than a hangover." She aimed her gun at him so he could see it, expecting him to run off. Instead he stumbled around the car and came towards her. He had huge sores on his face and there was something wrong with his eyes. "Stop right there!," she told him. But he just kept coming. _What kind of crazy person isn't afraid of a gun?_ He was around the car now and getting quite close to her. She yelled again for him to stop. When he didn't she fired a warning shot into the air and leveled the gun at him again. He kept coming so she shot him in the shoulder. The force of the blow knocked him back a step, but he just kept coming at her like it didn't even happen. She was so shocked she froze for a minute and then man lunged at her, knocking the gun from her hands and pushing her back onto the hood of her car. He was grabbing at her, like he was trying to bite her. She screamed and saw that the father of the two girls was out of the car and trying to yank the man off her. Suddenly she heard a loud pop and the man's head exploded in front of her eyes, blowing bits of his skull and brain everywhere.

She was up off the hood of the car and someone was holding onto her. Still in panic fight mode, RickyJo pushed and struck at the person until she heard a familiar voice.

"Its me, its me, its alright," Daryl told her. She burst into tears and hugged the man tight around the neck. She let go and saw Merle was standing on the other side of her car with his gun out, looking at the man he had shot in the face.

"Time to go," he told them.

"I can't get my jeep out," RickyJo told them. She was close to the car in front of her, and whoever owned it had been gone a while. The brothers looked at each other. Daryl popped the driver's side door open and put the car into neutral. Then they got behind the car and pushed, slamming the car hard into the bumper of the car in front of it. The occupants of that car did not look happy, but had no interest in messing with a man they had just seen shoot someone in the face.

"Got enough room now?," Melre asked her. She nodded and they all climbed into her jeep. She had picked her gun up and had it back in her holster. Andrea approached from the RV.

"Where are you going," she asked them. RickyJo looked at Daryl.

"Where are we going?," she asked him.

"Back up the mountain to wait this out a while," he said.

"Follow us," RickyJo told the woman. Merle snorted. He wasn't interested in a bunch of tagalongs but figured it wasn't worth the argument. RickyJo saw the hispanic man behind the wheel of his car, starting it up. Guess he was coming with them too. She got her jeep turned around and drove on the shoulder of the road until the traffic cleared out. Daryl jumped out and got his truck, which was parked on the side of the road with Merle's bike and a bunch of other shit in the back. RickyJo followed him back up the mountain trail to a quarry she knew. Merle was in the front seat now, giving her the meanest look she had ever seen.

"How many times have I fucking told you to tell someone where you are fucking going and not to go camping by your fucking self," he asked her. Then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, pulling her onto him and hugging the woman.

"Quit it," she told him, "I can't drive." She was elbowing at him playfully.

"You can't fucking drive whether I'm grabbing you or not," he told her.

"Fuck you," she told the man, laughing a little and swatting at him. They pulled up to a good camping spot near but not too near to the water. When RickyJo turned around she saw a long line of cars had followed them from the road outside Atlanta. She climbed up on top of her jeep to get a look at the city below. She could see it well from up here. While she looked on she felt the ground shake a little. Daryl climbed up next to her and she gripped his hand tightly. They watched the bombs drop and until all the streets of the city were blooming with fire.


	3. Chapter 3

10 years before the outbreak

2 weeks later

Today was the kind of day that was so hot, it made you start to sweat the minute you stepped outside. Or since they didn't have air conditioning in the their trailer, the minute you got up from bed and moved out from in front of your fan. Merle had rigged up what he called a redneck air conditioner, which was a five gallon bucket with some holes cut in the sides and pvc pipe coming out. the lid had a larger hole cut in it, where you would put a fan face down. Then they froze gallon jugs of water in the freezer and put them in the buckets. Most of the time, they kept the place cool enough, but Daryl had slept late and the water in his bucket was well past melted. He got in the shower and turned the water to cold. It felt great, but as soon as he stepped back out, he could feel himself start to sweat again. He heard Merle calling to him from outside. One of the girls had paged him. He was ready to go.

When they got to the cabin, the girls were outside eating popsicles. RickyJo had on a pair of cutoff jean shorts so short the bottom of the pockets were hanging out and a tank top with her bathing suit top underneath. Her bare feet were dirty and she was sitting sideways in her porch chair, letting them dangle over the arm. She gave a little half hearted wave, like it was to hot for any further effort. Jessica was in a shorts as well, and her bikini top. Her hair did not fair well in the humidity and she had finally given up and pulled it into a big sloppy bun on top of her head. Like most natural redheads, her skin was fair and enveloped in freckles. She had slathered on sunscreen before they went swimming earlier, but still her back, shoulders, nose and forehead were already turning pink. She was always jealous of her cousin's skin, which only burned a little at the very beginning of summer, and then turned to tan. Her hair would get so light and her skin so tawny, by the end of the summer she looked a bit like a palomino horse. RickyJo waved her popsicle in the air.

"More popsicles inside," she told the men, "you want one?" They both nodded. RickyJo swung her legs down off the armrest and vaulted out of the chair, landing on the porch with a soft thud. Jessica rolled her eyes. She could never understand why her cousin insisted on running and jumping and thumping around like a five year old. She considered herself much too mature for that type of behavior.

"Come on in," RickyJo told Merle, "I will get your money too." Merle followed the girl inside, staring at her long tan legs and the way her shorts hugged her curves. She grabbed the mason jar down of the fridge and handed the money to him. He got her weed out of his pants pocket and she crammed it into her pocket then put the jar back up on the fridge and opened the freezer. "Lime or cherry?," she asked the man.

"Cherry," he told her with a suggestive smile. She laughed a little. If he liked cherrries, she had no idea what he saw in Jessica. She noticed the man was leaning in, getting a little too close to her.

"Hey Daryl," she screamed as loud as possible right into Merle's ear, making the man wince a little and back up a step, "You want cherry or lime?"

"Lime!," Daryl called from the porch. RickyJo turned to Merle and gave him a smile to make sure he knew she had screamed in his ear on purpose. He looked at the girl. She wasn't afraid of him. In fact she seemed to be giving him a challenging look, waiting to see if he wold do anything. The way he was looking at her was giving RickyJo a funny feeling in her stomach, like a big bat was flapping around in there. He made her feel like a rabbit getting stared at by a hungry wolf. A rabbit that wanted to be eaten. She shoved his popsicle at him and slammed the freezer closed. He watched her walk back outside, wondering what that had been about.

She handed Daryl his popsicle and tried to lick the rest of hers up quick before it dripped down all over her hand and fell off the stick. Biting off the last big chunk, she worked it around in her mouth, trying to keep from getting a brain freeze. Then she jumped over the porch rail and landed in the grass, almost falling on her face in the process. She turned to Daryl.

"Lets go," she said. He followed after her, licking his popsicle which was getting drippy quick in the oppressive heat. Suddenly she turned and ran back, hollering at Merle who was heading into the cabin with Jessica.

"When you are _done here,_ " she said to him, "You can just leave. I can drive Daryl home when we are done fishing." Merle looked to Daryl who nodded his approval. He didn't see a anything but a golf cart around here, and wondered what she if she was going to drive his brother home in that. He figured that was Daryl's problem and went into the house to get what he came here for.

Daryl climbed into the golf cart next to RickyJo. She slid on her flip flops that were on the floor of the driver's seat. She seemed like she was thinking about asking him something.

"Do you mind if we go up to the main house for a minute first?," she asked, "I got to give this weed to my Nana. shes waiting on it."

"Your Nana?," he asked her in surprise, "she be getting high?"

"She has cancer," RickyJo explained. Now this was making sense. Daryl had guessed before that there was no way these two girls were smoking all that by themselves. They didn't seem like the party throwing type either, at least RickyJo didn't. So she had a sick grandma she was buying it for. And another house on this property.

The cart moved along a small path through the woods. RickyJo slowed down as she approached another wall like the one they had to pass through to get onto the property. This gate was smaller and only held shut with a latch that swung open. They had to put a code into an electronic lock to get into the main gate.

"You got a lot of tall walls around here," Daryl remarked, jumping out to open the gate so she could pull the cart through.

"The outside wall is to keep all the deer in," she explained, "this wall is to keep them out of the gardens or they will ruin everything. You have seen the deer here?" He nodded. He had noticed there were a lot of them and some looked different than the normal white tails or red deer that he ususally saw around here. "My poppa had a lot of them brought in, from all over. Some even from other countries back when that was legal. People pay to come here and hunt." He wondered how much people paid. The last time he had been there he had seen the biggest buck he had ever seen before. RickyJo smiled at him like she knew what he was thinking.

"You don't have to pay," she said with a smile.

"Have to come back during hunting season," he said.

"No, we have a special permit," she said, "you can come anytime. My poppa used to take hunting parties out all the time, but he is getting too old and tired to do it too much anymore." Daryl had always hunted anytime he felt like it, but he never knew there were places where people were allowed to do it. He was also looking around with interest at his surroundings. There were barns with animals, gardens and people out working in them, who waved to them as they drove by. RickyJo waved back. They drove through an area that looked to be under construction, a row of cabins was being built. Next they drove by a double house. It was done up to look like a cottage, with little flower gardens out front.

"Thats Jessie's place," she said, "the other side is mine but I am staying at the main house now to help out with my Nana." Daryl had never lived in a place that he had owned. Even their trailer was rented. All of the sudden he realized that this girl had more money than him. A lot more. Or at least her family did, which was about the same thing. He wondered what she would think of his shitty little trailer. He had never really met a rich girl before, but RickyJo didn't act the way he thought a rich girl would act. She seemed nice, and not like a snob or a spoiled brat.

They finally pulled up past a huge polebarn and into the driveway of a large ranch style house. RickyJo hopped out of the cart and headed in through a side door. They passed a laundry room and went though a garage. There were two cars inside, both covered in dust covers. Then up a small set of stairs and into the house. It was nice and cool inside the house. The floors were hardwood with a runner carpet down the hall. They passed a few rooms and entered into a huge living room with several couches and a tv that was against the wall on a rolling cart. It was the first one he had seen anywhere. On the other side of the living room was a glassed in sunporch. An older woman was laying on a large daybed with a light blanket covering her. There was a small child that looked about two years old playing on the floor with a toy tea set.

The girl was obviously biracial. She had skin the color of coffee, but soft curly hair and big blue eyes. The little girl heard them coming in a stood up, running for RickyJo.

"AuntieRee Auntie Ree," she said as she was lifted up into the woman's arms.

"Are you being a good girl for Nana?," she asked the small girl, smoothing a curl out of her face and holding her close.

"She is always a good girl," said the woman on the daybed. She swung her legs over the side and adjusted the pillows so she could sit up and lean back on them.

"Where's Poppa," RickyJo asked her. He was supposed to be in here, helping Nana keep an eye on the little one, not out poking around in the garage. She set the child down and got the bag of weed out of her pocket, holding it up for the older woman's approval. Then she handed it to her and got a box off a nearby shelf and handed that to the woman as well.

"He is out picking us some strawberries," the woman told RickyJo. Then she added, "He will be right back." She hated that she couldn't watch the child on her own and did not like her grand daughter treating her like a child, but she knew she had been prone to fainting spells lately. She silently reminded herself that there were some sick people out there who had no one to care for them. Without being to obvious about it, she was also getting herself a good look at the young man standing in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. She knew he was the brother of the boy that Jessica had been fooling around with but had been refusing to bring around. Jessica was usually more than happy to parade around any conquests she might have in front of the whole family, so since she had refused to bring this one, Nana had assumed that he was black. Now she could see that apparently wasn't the case. Guessing the ages of young people was getting harder for her as she got older, but she put this young man at about twenty five. If he was the younger of the two, that meant Jessica probably wasn't bringing the other man over because he was much too old for her. Both the girls looked mature for their age, and Nana wondered if these men knew they were only fifteen and sixteen. Jessica had been lying and saying she was eighteen since the eighth grade so it was unlikely she was telling the truth now.

"Nana," RickyJo said, remembering her manners, "this is Daryl. Daryl this is my Nana, and this little stinker here is Cassie." Daryl gave a little nod to the older woman, who smiled at him. The resemblance between her and RickyJo was obvious. They almost looked like they could be the same person in different stages of life. He was confused about the kid. Where did she fit into this family.

"I made you some sandwiches," Nana told them, "they are in the fridge in the kitchen. Why don't you take Cassie in there with you and have some lunch before you go." This was code for I want to smoke and I don't want the baby to see me smoking.

"Thanks Nana," RickyJo told her, "you didn't have to do that. Come on Cassie, I will give you a cookie." The little girl seemed pleased with this idea and happily followed the young woman into the kitchen. RickyJo sat the little girl down at the table in a little booster seat and handed her a cookie out of a jar on the counter. Then she reached into the fridge and got out two sandwiches on small white plates. She also got out a big jug of tea and poured them each a glass, plus a small glass of milk for the little girl. Daryl sat at the table and looked at the child. She seemed very familiar and he couldn't place why. Then it came to him. She looked just like RickyJo's cousin Jessica, only darker skinned.

"This Jessica's daughter?," he asked. RickyJo laughed.

"Well she sure ain't Nana's," she said, then added, "or mine." Daryl laughed a little too, happy to have the mystery explained. He also wondered if his brother knew about this, and he seriously doubted it. It was really funny to think about. White girls who fucked black guys was one of his brother's favorite things to run his big mouth about, and here had had been putting the wood to one of them on the regular and he didn't even know it. Thats what he gets for going in dick first and not even talking to the girl. Daryl could not wait to rub this in his brother's face later. _And thats what he gets for ruining my day the last time we were here and putting his hands all over the girl he brought me here to meet._

The finished up their sandwiches and RickyJo wiped up the table and rinsed out the glasses. Then she returned Cassie to the sun porch, which smelled faintly of marijuana. RickyJo gave a quick kiss to her Nana, and then they were headed back outside. She drove the cart back the way they had come. When they got out to the gate a black man who looked about forty was trimming some bushes nearby and hurried over to get the latch for them.

"Its okay Reggie," RickyJo told the man, "we can get it."

"No no Miss Ricky," he told her, "I got it for ya." She gave the man a warm smile and thanked him. She explained to Daryl that the man had been working here for her Poppa since before she was born. His nephew was the father of Jessica's baby, and had been sent away to a college out of state, but she left that out.

They drove a while back towards the cabin and then turned off to the left, heading down to the lake. It was hot and humid, and even with the breeze from riding in the small cart, the humidity was imposing. They pulled up at another small cabin. There were two more like it on different sides of the small lake. This one was up on a hill, with the lake down behind it. There was a nice patio down there, and a wooden dock with a pontoon boat tied to it. It was really too hot of a day for fishing. RickJo had been thinking that before Daryl even showed up. She wondered if he would want to do something else instead.

"It is so hot," she told him, then asked, "Do you want to just go swimming instead?" He thought this over for a minute.

"Don't have a suit," he told her.

"Thats okay, we have extras," she said, "but we can just fish if you want to." He had been thinking himself that the day was too hot for fishing. And swimmming meant bathing suits, which meant she would be in a bathing suit.

"No swimming sounds good," he told her. They went into the cabin, which was set up kind of like a hotel room inside. He thought maybe they rented these cabins out sometimes to the people that came here to go hunting.

"There should be some suits in the tall cupboard in the bathroom," she told him, "will you grab some towels from in there too." He nodded and went into the bathroom. He found a suit that wasn't too bad looking, and put it on. Then it crossed his mind that he was going to have to take off his shirt in front of this girl. He had noticeable scars all over his back and people always said something. He had been in such a hurry to see this girl without her clothes, he had forgotten that he was going to have to take his off as well. Maybe he could keep his shirt on until they were about to jump in so she wouldn't see.

RickyJo got a cooler and put in some ice from the freezer, then put some bottled water inside and a few beers. Not too many, it was too easy to get drunk in this heat. She turned when she heard the bathroom door. Daryl came out in a suit with his shirt still on. Now she felt a little silly and naked for stripping down to her suit already. It was so hot she decided she didn't care. It was funny that he seemed little shy and she wondered he had something weird going on that he was hiding under the shirt. Maybe he had a third nipple, she thought with a laugh. Most men she had seen liked showing off their naked chests, even when they didn't have much to show off.

She handed him the cooler and took the towels, flipping her sunglasses down from on top of her head. She left her flip flops on, so she wouldn't get splinters in her feet from the wooden dock. He climbed into the boat, while she untied it from the dock, pushing it out towards the lake an jumping on at the last second. She didn't cut the motor on, just used a long pole to shove against the bottom of the lake and let them drift out where the water was deep enough to swim and then anchored the boat. She pulled out her ponytail and twisted her hair into one long braid, then kicked off her sandals and dove in. The water felt freezing at first compared to the heat of the day. Daryl was relieved he didn't have to undress right in front of her now. He kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt and jumped in after her.

"Fuckin hell," he said pooping back up, "that is cold." RickyJo laughed and splashed at him a little. They swam around a while, then went back to climb up on the boat and have a beer. He went up the ladder in front of her. Thats when she saw his back. RickyJo felt bad for him instantly. She didn't say anything at first but as he was drying himself off he felt her hand on his back. She softly tracing one of her fingers across the worst of his scars. She felt him tense under her touch..

"Its alright," she said. She turned her back to him and held her braid up and out of the way. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at. When he moved it a little closer he saw them. Hundreds of tiny round scars, some of them were white, and some still an angrier red. Some were perfectly round and some were warped where her skin had grown and stretched them. They covered the backs of her shoulders and a few were on her neck. They spread out more but there were a few even down on her lower back near her waist. It was plain they were cigarette burns. He had one himself, but his had been his own stupid fault for playing chicken with his brother. Who had done this to her, not the old woman he had met, and he didn't think it had been her grandfather either, when she talked about him he could hear the love and pride in her voice.

"My mother had a lot of shitty boyfriends," RickJo explained, "but that guy was the worst."

After they had their fill of swimming and sunning themselves, RickyJo drove them back to the main house to change into dry clothes and get the car to drive him home. Daryl was standing around awkwardly in the living room waiting for her when a man that must be her grandfather came in. The man was tall and tan from years working outside in the sun. He had white hair that was combed back from his face and a friendly smile. The man stuck his hand out, and Daryl nervously shook it.

"Augustus King," he told the young man, "and you must be Daryl." Daryl nodded. He had not even been sure that RickyJo had been serious about hanging out with him again the last time he had been there, let alone talking to her family about him. It made him feel good to know she liked him that much. "I know your brother has been fooling with my other granddaughter," the man said. Daryl was getting nervous now, it would not be the first time he had been judged because of something Merle had done. "Its alright," the man added, patting him on the back gently and adding in a quieter voice, "We all love Jess but its not secret that she is nothing but a little whore." Daryl laughed a little and tried to turn it into a cough. That was pretty funny, and true, and he had a feeling he knew where this was going now. He relaxed a little, after all he had not laid a hand on either girl, so he had nothing to be nervous about. "Just as long as you understand my Ricky is not that kind of girl," the man explained. Daryl nodded vigorously. RickyJo was coming out of the back hall now in a clean pair of shorts.

"What are you saying to him Poppa," she asked the man, "you better not be giving him a hard time."

"I was just telling him I would take him out to see my cars," the man lied. Daryl smiled a little. RickyJo frowned and wrinkled up her nose.

"We were going to look at my ducks," she said to the man., making him laugh.

"Nobody wants to see your dirty birds RickyJo," the man said, teasing her. She couldn't help but laugh, the way he always said dirtybirds like it was one word and a swear always cracked her up. Really, she had not interest in looking at his boring cars, but it was too late now. When Jessica brought boys over they were always fascinated with the cars, so maybe it wasn't the worst idea. Augustus loved showing of his cars and would take any opportunity to do so. He didn't want to ruin RickyJo's afternoon with her friend though.

"Tell you what," he told the girl, "I will let you pick out any car you want to drive him home."

"You are going to let me borrow one of the cars?," she asked in a tone that let the man know she thought he was full to the brim with bullshit. He nodded. "Any one I want?" He nodded again. "What if I crash it?" He thought about this a minute.

"Don't crash it," he told her firmly, making the girl laugh. She would never crash one of his cars, and they both knew it, but he almost never let her drive them anyway. They all headed out towards the large pole barn that Daryl had seen earlier. There were more cars in there than Daryl had ever seen in one place. He was poking around looking at them, trying to ask questions that didn't sound stupid. He was sitting in them too, since the man had said it was okay. With the young man occupied, Augustus leaned in close to his favorite granddaughter and whispered quietly to her.

"When you take him home, you let him drive," he told the girl. She rolled her eyes at the man, but he could tell that she was going to listen.

Merle was sitting in a plastic chair on what passed for his front lawn. A man from a few trailers down was over with his son. The guy was a sloppy drunk, but it was still pretty early, so he wasn't getting too bad yet. It was too hot to be inside, and they had been talking about throwing some burgers on the grill. From where the lot was, they could see past the next road over to the entrance of the trailer park. Everyone sat up a little taller when they saw a an old Ford Thunderbird pull in. It was cherry red, and to Merle's surprise when it got closer, he saw that his brother was driving it, with Jessica's cousin in the passenger seat They pulled to a stop in front of the trailer.

"Hey I know that girl," said the kid from down the street, "thats Ricky King."

"I know that car," his dad added, "seen it before at the car shows down at the fairgrounds. Belongs to Augustus King." The three men got up to get a closer look at the car. RickyJo let them all poke around at the car, and was amused when Merle wanted to open up the back trunk to see where the soft top was folded up at and open the hood to look at the engine.

"Do you want me to take you for a ride," she asked the man. She would have offered to let him drive, since he was so excited, but the beer bottle in his hand made her think twice. Her grandpa had trusted her, and she knew he wouldn't want a drunk man driving his car.

"Hi RickyJo," the kid from down the street said to her. She looked at him. He did look familiar, probably from school, but a name was not coming to mind. "Travis," he told her, helping her out.

"Thats right, " she said, giving him a smile, "Travis Holden, right?" He nodded, happy she remembed him. He remembered her, and he definately remembered her cousin Jessica, who had quite a reputation at their small school. When she had gotten pregnant, their grandfather had pulled both girls out of school and hired private tutors for them. No one saw them much after that.

"Hows Jessica?," the boy asked her. She laughed. Boys always wanted to know how Jessica was.

"She's good," she told the boy. Merle was bored with this conversation.

"Are we going for a ride or not?," he asked the girl. She nodded and got the keys back from Daryl. They both climbed in and she started the car back up and pulled away. She glanced over at the man, who looked like a five year old at Disney Land. Guiding the car out of the trailer park, she headed for the country road they had taken to get there.

"You know my Poppa has a ton of other cars besides this one," she told the man, "If you ask Jess, I'm sure she would take you to see them next time you come over." Merle gave her a little huff noise. He had no interest in spending more time with Jessica than it took to get what he wanted from her. She was already getting clingy as it was. RickyJo understood the man's frustration, she knew Jessica could be a little bitch sometimes. She could also see that Merle wasn't exactly in love with her cousin. Jessica had a bad habit of getting overly attached to every man she slept with and then becoming very demanding with them. Maybe one day the girl would learn that just because a guy slept with you, it didn't mean he was going to marry you or even liked you.

"Or I can take you to see them," RickyJo offered. She had appreciated the shooting lesson the man had given her, and wouldn't mind doing something nice for him.

"I would like that," he told the girl. It was not the first time he had wanted to kick himself for rushing into bed with Jessica. It would obviously have taken a lot more work to get this girl into bed, but the more time he spent with her, the more he had been thinking that it would have been worth it. He watched her as she pulled the car into a lot to turn around and head back. She had her hair pulled back, but a few strands were hanging loose around her face. RickyJo knew he was looking at he and she felt the same funny sensation in her stomach she had earlier in the day when they had been standing in front of the fridge. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel like he knew what she looked like under her clothes.

They pulled back up in front of the trailer. Travis had been hoping for a ride in the car as well, but she told him she had to get back home for dinner. She gave Daryl a hug goodbye and left. When Travis saw that, he was impressed. Everyone knew the older of the two King girls didn't date. His dad was interested in the situation as well. He didn't know the girls but he knew quite a bit about their grandfather and wondered if Daryl knew who's granddaughter he was fooling with.

"You know who that girl is?," Travis's dad asked Daryl. Daryl didn't like the man anyway, and wasn't much interested in his opinion, but the man sounded like he knew something of interest. Merle didn't care for the man's tone either.

"Who the fuck is she?," he asked the man, sitting back down in his lawn chair and opening another beer.

"Thats Augustus King's granddaughter man," he said as thought that should explain everything. Daryl was annoyed, her already knew her grandfather's name. It didn't mean anything to him other than a name.

"Augustus King," Travis said, "as in King tobacco." He held up his pack of cigarettes, waving them about. Merle laughed. He knew he had smelled money on those girls. He had not realized it was that much money, but he wasn't that shocked. "Jessica has a trust fund too, but everyone knows RickyJo is getting the rest." Daryl was confused. If she was some kind of rich trust fund baby, how had RickyJo gotten those scars all over her back. Maybe she had been lying about them, but he didn't think so.

"There was a big scandal a few years back," Travis's dad said. "I don't know the girls but I knew their mothers. RickyJo's momma was a wild one. She took up with drugs pretty bad. Didn't even know who the father of her baby was. The parents tried sending her to rehab a few times but it never stuck. Couple years after high school old Augustus went to check on her and found some asshole molesting his granddaughter. Killed the guy. The police came but he was never arrested or anything. They sent the mom, Kimmy, back to rehab. I heard later that she killed herself there. They tried to hush it up and keep it all out of the papers, but most people found out anyway." Travis had never heard the whole story, but he had heard most of it from other people over the years so he was not that surprised. Daryl on the other hand was completely shocked. He felt bad now for thinking that she had been lying about her scars.

"Yeah," said Travis, "I knew them both from school and people used to say stuff about it sometimes." Merle had been listening and had caught onto something that wasn't part of the story. He knew Travis was not very ols, and had dropped out of school a few months before.

"You knew them from school?," Merle asked the boy. Travis nodded. "How old are them girls," Merle asked him.

"Well, RickyJo was in my grade, so she is probably about sixteen. Jessica was in the grade below," he said, thinking about it a minute.

"No," Merle corrected him, "Jessica is the older one."

"No she's not man," Travis said with certainty, "she is the younger one. I was a freshman when she was in eighth and she got pregnant."

"Pregnant?," Merle asked the kid, "what kind of shit you talking?"

"She has a kid," Daryl told his brother, "I saw her at the house earlier today." Now Merle was getting pissed. Pissed off and fucking scared.

"Fucking little bitch told me she was eighteen," he cursed. Travis's dad was drunker now and finding this new development rather humorous.

"Guess you should have checked her fucking ID man," he told Merle. Now Merle had his head in hs hands swearing and muttering to himself. Fuck. Fuck. Double Fuck. What a fucking little bitch. Daryl was a little surprised to hear that RickyJo was only sixteen. He had guessed her at about nineteen. But since he had not fucked her, and her grandparents had not seemed to mind that he was hanging around with her, he wasnt really worried. And Augustus had known about Merle and Jessica and he had not seemed overly concerned about it. Guess when your twelve year old grandaughter pops out some random black baby, it desensitizes you to the rest of the shit she might do later. He thought about telling Merle this, but wasn't sure if it would make the situation better or worse.

"If her fucking rich ass grandparents find out about this shit, my ass is fucking grass," Merle proclaimed.

"They already know," Daryl told him.


	4. Chapter 4

****This story is rated M for mature. I own nothing from the Walking Dead. Thank you to anyone who wrote a review, they make it more fun to write and post.****

Present Day

RickyJo didn't have much laundry to do, but she had seen a bunch of the other women heading down towards the water with their's, so she figured she might as well head down and visit a while. She grabbed Daryl's pile as well, which was larger and considerably more ripe. Then she figured she might as well wash out some of the blankets and pillow cases. Maybe she really did need to wash up the laundry, she thought with a laugh as she huffed the pile into a basket and hauled it down to the water. Carol's wackadoo husband was sitting on the back of his truck, smoking a cigarette. RickyJo plopped down next to the man, rocking the truck a little.

"Whats the good word today?," she asked to man. He tapped a cigarette out of his pack and handed it to the woman, eyeing her breasts. She held it in her teeth while she lit it and handed his lighter back to him.

"Same shit, different day," he told her. She shrugged a little and took a long drag on the smoke. Carol looked over at them from where she was doing her wash. She had thought it was strange at first, that young woman always chatting up her husband. Most of the other women made it a point to avoid him. Then she had thought that maybe the girl was interested in him and it had made her a little mad in a strange way. He may be a peice of shit but he was still _her_ peice of shit. But Andrea had told her she thought RickyJo was into women, so it couldn't be that. Ed always seemed to be in a better mood after the woman talked to him. As she watched them more and more, Carol began to have a strange feeling that the woman was talking to her husband so that he would be in a better mood. So that he would be nicer to Carol. It was a strange thought, the girl had no reason to want to help her. And Carol had never said anything about her situation to RickyJo, but there was no other reason Carol could come up with as to why such a pretty girl would be wasting her time on a fat old ass like Ed. His laughter carried over to where her and the other women were sitting. RickyJo had the side of her shirt up, telling him a funny story about one of her tattoos. She had funny stories about a lot of her tattoos.

RickyJo finished up her story and her smoke and stomped the butt out on the ground. Then she picked up her basket and headed down to the water, giving all the girls a big smile. She was sorting through the items when Merle came busting down there, hollering for her. RickyJo hated when people called her name like she was a dog, and both Daryl and Merle did it all the time. Maybe she ought to get them a fucking whistle and they could just call her that way.

"Hey," Merle said to her, "I was calling you."

"I heard," she told him, "what you want I am trying to do the freaking wash." He noticed she was washing up Daryl's stuff butt not his and thought for a minute about complaining, but then remembered why he was looking for her.

"They just took off," he said, "hurry up or we're going to miss that shit." RickyJo laughed and hopped up, then they both took off back towards camp like a couple of nuts.

"What the hell was that about?," Jacqui asked. Andrea couldn't help but smile a little.

"You don't want to know," she told the other woman.

There was not much entertainment around camp so RickyJo and Merle had been taking to making some of their own fun. The best thing of all was finding someone to spy on, and the best people to spy on were that stupid cop and his girlfriend because they were the ones that fucked out in the woods. RickyJo could never figure out why they didn't just go hump it out in their tent, but figured it was just as well. They would be harder to spy on if they were in their tent.

Merle was sneaking through the woods in front of her. RickyJo was trying not to step on any sticks, which was hard because she was laughing. The way he was sneaking around acting all military stealth was too much. She figured he thought he was looking like some kind of James Bond, but to her he looked more like Ace Ventura.

"Quit fucking laughing," he told her. She was going to get them caught and she was making him laugh.

"I can't," she said, holding her sides.

"Oh fuck," he said, dropping to the ground, "here they fucking come get down getdown." RickyJo hit the ground and crawled over to wear Merle was hiding. She had to cover her own mouth to keep from laughing. Sure enough here came the fuckers, sucking faces and pulling at each other's clothes. RickyJo stopped laughing and wiggled in closer so she could get a better look. Lori and Shane were on the ground now, rolling around half naked. Of course he pulled her pants down and started pounding her from behind.

"He is so fucking predictable," RickyJo whispered, "he could at least go down on her first." Merle buried his face in the crook of his elbow, shaking in silent laughter.

"You are too much sometimes RickyJo," he told her. It wasn't really what she said but the way she said it that made him laugh. Like that cop was the rudest fucker on earth for not giving that chick some head before he did her. Personally he wished that bitch would get on top so he could at least get a good look at her tits. It had crossed his mind that what they were doing, the spying, was really nasty perverted. But for some reason, RickyJo doing it with him made it seem okay. It was understood that they did not talk to Daryl about this. One, because they were leaving him out, and two, because he would get mad at them and make them stop.

Merle moved in closer to RickyJo, putting his hand on the small of her back and rubbing the strip of exposed skin between her shorts and the loose cutoff tshirt she was wearing. She had tattoos there as well, leopard print and rainbow butterflies with little swirly designs. He knew her cousin Jessica liked to laugh about that one and say it was a lesbo tramp stamp. Well the joke was on her, because stamp or no stamp, she was the tramp.

RickyJo sighed and lay her head down on her arms. She knew Merle was going to try coming onto her, he had been trying it for years, but maybe she could get a backrub out of it this time. The show was over anyway, that cop and his lady friend were putting their clothes back on and getting ready to sneak off back to camp.

"Mmmm," she said softy, "if you rub my back I will rub yours later." He smiled, he knew by now RickyJo was nothing but a tease. A tease that already owed him at least two backrubs.

"I will rub it if you let me feel your tits up, " he told her.

"No fucking way," she said, "I will go get someone else to rub it for free." Someone else meant Daryl. Merle thought this over. He liked touching her, so he didn't really need anything for doing it, but he thought he would bid down a little and see what he could get anyway.

"I will rub it," he said, "squeezing into her shoulders and rubbing his thumb in circles into her back, "if you let me kiss you." RickyJo thought about this a minute. She didn't have anything better to do at the moment and had never made it secret that she enjoyed toying with the man. A kiss didn't sound that bad. They had kissed once before, a lot of years ago. She tried not to think about that.

"Alright," she said. Merle smiled, was he hearing wrong or did she just say alright. He figured he better get this kiss now before she changed her mind.

"Turn over here then," he told her, pulling at her arm and flopping her onto her back.

"I thought you were rubbing my back," she said.

"I want to get paid first," he told her. She gave him a sideways look, then shrugged her shoulders. He went to lean in, but she shoved him back.

"I am not ready yet," she told him. Then she made a big fuss of smoothing her hair down. She lay down flat on her back and closed her eyes, folding her hands and placing them on her chest. He could see she had a little smirk on her face.

"Ready now?," he asked her. She peeked one eye open at him and nodded her head, then closed her eyes again. He looked down at her for a minute, watching her expression and the rise and fall of her chest. She wasn't smirking anymore, but seemed very serious now. Whatever he was going to do, she wished he would hurry up and do it. He was making her nervous and she could feel her heart pounding harder in her chest. She heard a soft movement as he leaned in closer and brushed his lips gently across hers. It was such a soft kiss, almost like a whisper but she felt it all the way down to her toes. Before she knew what she was doing, she had her arms up around him, twining her fingers into his hair and stroking his neck, pulling his mouth back down to hers.

He kissed her harder now, parting her lips with his tounge. She sucked his lower lip and then took his tounge into her mouth, sucking it hard and biting the tip of it gently. He slipped his hand up under her shirt and ran his thumb over the hard bump of her nipple. She moaned into his mouth and then he felt her hands on his chest, pushing him off. Well that was nice while it lasted, he thought, flopping back down onto his back in the leaves. He expected her to get up and take off now, but she didn't. Instead she lay there, breathing hard. Then she flipped over on top of him, straddling him and pulling him up into a sitting postion so she could wrap her legs around his back. She pulled the gun out of the back of his pants and tossed it in the leaves next to them, then pulled her holster off and threw that aside as well. Merle had been with a lot of women, and nothing anything any of them did surprised him anymore, but this was taking him by storm. He had no idea what had suddenly gotten into RickyJo, but he was more than willing to go along with whatever game she was playing with him. This was already turning out much better than the little peck on the cheek he had expected to get from her.

She leaned down and kissed him again, he could feel the little metal bar she had in her tounge. Knowing what she used it for made it that much sexier. He tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her rigid against his chest. RickyJo grasped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up over her head, tossing it aside, then reached behind to unhook her bra. She tossed that over with her shirt and wrapped her arms around his head, pressing her naked breasts into his face. She heard a twig snap a few feet away and went tense. She felt Merle's body lock up as well so she knew he heard it too.

She climbed off the man quickly and grabbed for her clothes. It was two geeks. RickyJo grabbed for her gun, but Merle stopped her. The gun would make too much noise and there might be more of them around. He reached under his pant leg and got his hunting knife. Then he picked up his gun. RickyJo stood back, covering herself with her shirt and holding her gun pointed at the walkers with her other hand. Merle stepped forward, pistol whipping the first geek and knocking it to the ground. Then he stabbed the other one in the head with his knife. He went to pull the knife out, but it was stuck. The other geek was getting back up. He thought he might have to shoot it, but RickyJo appeared behind it with a huge rock. She held it up high and brought it down hard on the thing's head, blood splashing up onto her naked chest.

Once the woman looked around and made sure there were no more of them, she turned back and grabbed her bra, turning her back to Merle to put it on. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn't fasten the clasp. She felt the man close behind her, his hands taking the place of hers and hooking the tiny clips. Then his arms came down around her and she spun around to bury her face in his chest. He said nothing, just held her and rubbed her back softly. Merle had not been scared for himself, but he found he had been afraid when he thought something might happen to RickyJo. And watching her smash that geek's head in topless had been strangely arousing. She quickly got herself under control and picked her shirt up from the ground, pulling it roughly over her head.

"Well," Merle asked her, "whatcha wanna do now?" This made her smile again.

"I will fucking tell you what I am going to do," she told him, "I am going back to camp to change my underpants." Now he was laughing. He knew she hadn't really peed her pants but it had been scary there for a second. "Then I am going to smoke a blunt. And maybe take a Xanax. And then I am going to do the laundry because the whole tent is starting to stink like Daryl's feet."

"You want some company," he asked her. She nodded and took his hand as they started walking back.

"Are you really going to help me do the laundry?"

"I dunno," he said, "do you really have xanax?" She did have them. Her and Glen had dug through what remained of a drugstore the week before and she had found three bottles that she had made sure not to tell anyone about, especially Merle. He was like a damn bloodhound when it came to prescription medication and he always took too much.

"Yeah," she said, "I do."

"Gonna give me some?"

"I suppose."

"Then I will help you do the laundry," he told her. She smiled and gave him a big hug. He was actually very meticulous when it came to doing the washing and she liked to have his help when she could talk him into it. RickyJo stopped walking and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. He tilted her chin up and gave her a soft kiss, not daring to try anything more at the moment. She had shown she was receptive to what he had to offer when they had been kissing before, so now he would just wait for the right moment. He had known RickyJo for ten years now, so its not like another day or two was going to hurt him.

The other women were still down by the water when RickyJo showed back up. This time she had Merle with her and both of them looked high. She had begged another smoke off Ed and they were passing it back and forth, carrying another basket down between them. Andrea thought hopefully that he was just helping to carry it, but it became obvious that the man was staying to help her with the washing as well.

"Where have you two been," Amy asked. She could smell the pot on them.

"Want to know what I have been doing?," Merle asked the girl. He came towards her thrusting his hand out towards her face, "here smell my fingers." Amy leaned away from him, looking disgusted. RickyJo was laughing hard now.

"Don't do it, its a trick," she told the girl, "he tells Daryl he had his fingers in some girl but really he scratches his own ass instead." Andrea could not help herself, she started laughing too.

"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard," she told the woman. Merle leaned down getting uncomfortably close to her face.

"You don't get out much, do ya," he said. RickyJo was laughing so hard now she plunked her butt down in the sand and hugged her knees, tears just rolling down her face. "There she goes," Merle announced. Then he informed Andrea, "whenever she gets high she laughs like a fucking hyena. Look at that shit." He walked over and tried pulling RickyJo up into a standing position. It was like trying to wrestle a limp rag doll. "Come on," he told her pulling up on her arms, "quit playing around we gotta do this fucking laundry." She pushed up with her feet and stood, trying to take a few deep breaths and not think about anything funny.

"Alright, I'm done," she said, shaking him off. "No more jokes." Merle nodded. Andrea had not really cared for the rough way the man had been grabbing at her friend, but since RickyJo didn't seem to mind, she saw no reason to make a fuss over it. Its not like he had hit or hurt the girl, they had only been playing around. They straightened up, trying to hurry and get their laundry done. Amy and Andrea were done with theirs so they offered to help. Even though Andrea found Merle to be about the foulest man she had ever met, she had to admit she didn't see any of the other guys doing their own laundry.

Daryl had come back from the run he had been on with some of the other men. They warmed up some canned soup for dinner and went to bed. Merle lay awake, thinking about what happened earlier that day. He looked across the tent to where RickyJo was sleeping on her air mattress. As hard as he tried, he could never figure that girl out. Or whatever nonsense had been going on between her and Daryl for what seemed like forever. He thought they had finally worked things out a few years ago, when they had moved in together. But when he went over there they were sleeping in separate rooms, just living together like roomates, and she was dating a woman. Merle had know for years before that, and before anyone else knew, that RickyJo sometimes liked to fool aroud with other girls. Lots of girls did that. But when she started up with that bitch Laney, she had become a lot more intense about it, bringing the woman around and saying it was her girlfriend.

RickyJo started thrashing around in her sleep, kicking at her blanket and mumbling. It was the same nightmare she always had. Someone was hurting her and she wanted her mother to stop them, but her mother just lay there on the couch staring at her. When Merle heard her start calling for her mommy, he decided that was enough. He crawled over and leaned over the woman, shaking her gently and calling to her. She woke up gasping for breath.

"Just a nightmare," he told her. She nodded and moved over to make some room for him to lay down. He climbed in, wrapping his body around her and listening as her breathing returned to normal. When she calmed down from the dream, RickyJo became more and more aware of the body pressed against hers. The man was only holding her but she could feel him hard and pressing against her hip. She reached her arm behind her and touched him gently, rubbing him through his pants.

Her actions took him a little by surprise, but in a good way. He pulled her closer and kissed the back of her neck and the soft place behind her ear. She rolled over to face him then, switching hands so she could keep rubbing him through the thin material. They were kissing now, their mouths open, sucking gently at each other's tounges and lips. He was pulling at her clothes, pushing her shorts down and pulling her shirt up. She pushed back from him to pull her shirt over her head, baring her breasts. He had her shorts down, sitting up to push yank them all the way off. She tossed her shirt and lay her head back down. Without warning, he was on top of her, holding her wrists down on against the sheet and sliding himself roughly inside her with a hard shove. She gasped in surprise and bucked up with her hips, trying to push him off. He took this as an invitation to start sliding in a out of her, finishing each slow thrust with a hard pump.

With each movement, RickyJo could feel him rubbing that delicious spot inside of her. The man had taken her by surprise, but she did want this and if it was going down, RickyJo decided she might as well enjoy it. Relaxing back against the mattress, she brought her knees up, feeling his full length inside her now. He could feel her rising up to meet him now as he pushed into her warmth, and he increased the speed and intensity of his movements. When she closed her eyes she had the sudden image of a copperhead snake along with the comforting feeling of being loved and protected. She had been seeing that snake in her dreams since she was a little girl but she never knew what it meant. Why she was thinking about it now, while Merle was making love to her she had no idea. He was moving in rhythm wiht her now and she could feel it building up first before her orgasm ripped through her in hard spasms. When she felt him spill inside her, she came again, moaning and gasping into the hollow of his neck. He let go of her arms and she wrapped them around him, loving the feeling of his weight on her and inside her.

Merle liked the feeling of laying there with her, but he didn't want to squash the girl, so he rolled off on to his back, trying to catch his breath. She snuggled in, laying her head on his chest. Then she thought about all the horrible things he had always said about her cousin and how clingy she got after sex. And how much he hated it. RickyJo pushed away from him, turing her back to the man and laying down on her pillow. _Where the hell does she think shes going?_ He had been waiting ten damn years for this shit and he was not going back to sleep in his own bed. RickyJo smiled as she felt the man scootch over and snuggle in behind her, pulling her close to him.

"I thought you said you hated to cuddle," she whispered to him. He smiled now. So she had wanted to cuddle but not if he didn't want to. Thats why RickyJo was a good woman.

'I never said I didn't like to cuddle, I said I didn't like to cuddle Jessica," he said. He had come to be somewhat fond of Jessica over all the years he knew her, but there was no denying that woman was a stage five clinger. Needy and whiny is how she got with men and that shit drove him crazy. RickyJo was pleasantly taken aback by how nice he was being to her. It made her feel good, and special. Part of the reason she had been reluctant to sleep with the man, is she had seen how he treated the women he slept with. That kind of bullshit was not something she was willing to put up with.

"Got something I want to tell you," she said tentatively.

"That you fucked Daryl when y'all went to Mexico?," he asked.

"Oh my god, why would I tell you about that after we just had sex," she said, turning to look at him, "And how the fuck do you even know about that?"

"I didn't," he lied, "it was just a guess." The truth was Jessica had told him.

"Well thats not what I was going to tell you," she exclaimed. He snuggled back in, kissing her on the mouth and fondling her breasts softly, then moving down to suck on one of her nipples.

"Thought maybe you wanted to tell me how much better of a fuck I was," he suggested to her. She shoved him away from her breasts and smacked at his shoulder.

"What the hell is wrong with you," she asked the man. Merle could tell she was trying not to laugh. And she better quiet down or they were going to be more than two awake people in this tent. "I will tell you one thing," she said with a smirk, "When I was in bed with Daryl he didn't want to talk about you. Thats for sure."

"Oh no," he asked, mocking her, "what did you guys talk about then?"

"Merle," she said, "lay down and shut up or you are going back to your own bed." He raised his hands up in surrender. She rolled over and he snuggled back in close to her, thinking maybe he might like to go another round with her before they went to sleep. He remembered that before they started joking around, she had wanted to tell him something.

"What did you want to tell me?," he whispered.

"Fuck you," she told him.

"No I'm being serious this time," he said.

"Well," she started. She took his hand in hers and planted a small soft kiss in his palm, closing his hand around it like she was giving him something to keep. "Before you started acting like such an ass and made me change my mind, I was going to tell you that I love you."


	5. Chapter 5

Present Day

Daryl and RickyJo had been hiking through the woods all day, looking for deer. Now it was starting to get dark and they were too far away from camp to get back. RickyJo thought they should have gone back hours ago, but had not bothered to even suggest it. She could tell by the mood Daryl was in that there was no way he was going to listen anything she had to say. They used to have so much fun hunting togther. RickyJo knew he was mad at her, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. He had been acting strange towards her ever since Mexico.

They had slept together. She had thought that was what he wanted. Everything seemed perfect, and she figured when they got back to the apartment in Atlanta, he would move into her room and they would be together. She liked her girlfriend, but she loved Daryl and wanted a family. The next afternoon when she was packing up to go back, he had started acting cold towards her, pretending like nothing happened. She guessed he had heard her on the phone with Laney, but all she had really told the woman was that she needed to talk to her when they got back. They had been dating for almost three years, it didn't feel right to break things off with her over the phone. After that things between them had been strained. If she even came near him after that, he was jumping away from her like she had a contagious rash. RickyJo knew he was upset about something, but her feelings had been hurt badly as well. She had finally given up and left to go camping for the summer. And then the end of the world happened.

She trudged along behind the man, two rabbits that she had gotten with her bow dangling from her belt. He had barely spoken to her all day. After a few attempts to make conversation, she had given up. Now RickyJo was feeling tired and sweaty and dejected. She wished she had stayed back at camp with Merle like he had wanted her to.

Daryl noticed the woman with him was getting winded. And he was getting tired himself. They needed to make camp and cook those rabbits before they lost the light. He was looking for a spot he had found while hunting up here before, and he was hoping it was as close by as he thought it was. There was a familiar tree, now he knew it was close. A few more yards and they saw the cabin up ahead of them.

"Can stay here tonight," he told RickyJo. She just shrugged and walked ahead towards the cabin. Daryl had been there before, but he checked the place anyway and then motioned the girl inside. She took her pack off and grabbed a bucket from the porch to go get some water from a stream nearby. When she came back, Daryl had a fire going in the firepit outside. She poured the water into a large pot and balanced it over the fire to boil it for drinking. Then she picked up one of the rabbits and started skinning it so they could spit it over the fire. Daryl came and picked up the other one.

"Why do you hate me so much?," she asked the man. Her question had taken him a little off guard.

"Dont hate ya," he said, "Just dont like fucking things being held out in front of me that I can't fucking have."

"What are you talking about?," she asked.

"Nothing," he said. RickyJo had never wanted to smack someone as much as she wanted to punch Daryl in his pouting face right that minute. She took a deep breath and turned back to the rabbit, yanking the skin back roughly and almost ripping one of the legs off. Daryl grabbed it away from her.

"Going to fucking ruin it," he told her. RickyJo stomped away and washed the blood off her hands in the rest of the water left in the bucket. She thought about going in to dig through her bag for a smoke and then changed her mind and walked back over to Daryl.

"What is your fucking problem?," she demanded, poking at his chest a little.

"You were in bed with Merle this morning," he yelled back at her. Fucking whore is what she was.

"You were mad at me before that," she said.

"Now I'm fucking madder," he told her. He was mad too, he didn't know for sure if anything had even happened between them, but when her saw her with his brother he had wanted to punch the man's face in.

"Why can't we just be friends again?," she asked. RickyJo could feel the tears welling up and she didn't want to let him make her cry. "Why did what happened have to ruin everything?," she asked, her voice getting little shaky. She had a lot more she would like to say, but she didn't trust herself to say it without crying.

"You are the one who ruined everything," he screamed at her, "By acting like a little whore, just like your little whore cousin. You know Merle doesn't give one fucking shit about you. To him you are just another slut to stick his dick in." RickyJo had heard as much as she could take, she turned on her heels and headed towards the cabin. She dug through her bag and swallowed two xanax, then grabbed her smokes and sat out on the porch, as far away from Daryl as she could get. She thought about trying to make it back to camp before dark, but there was no way. And stumbling around in the woods in the dark was suicide. Instead she hugged her knees and let her tears roll down, smoking and hoping the pills she took would kick in soon.

They ate their dinner in silence, and slept in the small bed in the cabin with their backs to each other. RickyJo feel asleep right away, the pills relaxing her and making her troubles feel less important. The next morning it was all business. Despite their personal problems of the moment, they had been hunting together for years, and soon they were on the trial of a small family group of deer. The best part was the deer were heading back towards camp, so Daryl decided they would follow them a while so they didn't have to carry them as far. When they got about two miles away, Daryl took the shot, but the deer tuned at the last second and he missed the vital organs he had been aiming for. It was still a kill shot, but a slow kill. Now they would have to track the stupid thing down until they found where it dropped. When they found the deer, a geek was chewing on it. Daryl lost it, yelling and kicking at the thing.

RickyJo turned and headed back to camp. She had seen enough. Venison would have been nice, but they had both gotten a few squirrels and she had nailed another rabbit and a fat beaver from the creek near the cabin where they had stayed. She stopped near their tent first, looking for Merle. She saw Andrea approaching her, and the woman had a concerning look on her face.

"Whats wrong," RickyJo asked her.

"Its Merle," she started.

"Is he dead?," RickyJo asked.

"We dont know," Andrea said, approaching and putting her hand on the woman's arm. She explained what happened as gently as she could. RickyJo was upset, but she knew how Merle could get. If he had been fighting and attacking other members of the group, she didn't blame them for what happened. She was going to get him though. RickyJo grabbed a fresh bottle of water and an extra clip for her gun. She pulled her pack back on and got her gun out of its holster.

Glen was taking a last look at his new sports car before everyone came for the gas and usable spare parts. Before he knew it he was shoved up against the side of the car with a gun in his face. RickyJo's face was inches from his and she jacked the gun up under his chin.

"What building?," she asked.

"RickyJo, you can't go back there," Glen said, trying to reason with the woman, "not by yourself." She pulled her knee up hard into his thigh and slammed him hard into the side of the car.

"What building?," she asked again.

"The old Woolfords department store," Glen said, "Next door to Sears." RickyJo pulled him off the car and pushed him into the dirt. She held her gun on him while she reconnected the car battery. Suddenly the car alarm was deafening, breaking the silence of the morning and making flocks of birds scatter off out of the trees. She slid behind the driver's seat and slammed the car in gear, taking off back down the road to the city. Hearing the noise, several people ran over just in time to see her driving off. Daryl stopped fighting with Shane and Rick and ran over to Glen.

"Where the fuck is she going," he asked.

"After Merle," Glen told him.

"And you couldn't fucking stop her," Daryl yelled at the man.

"She kneed him in the crotch and stuck a gun in his face," Dale told him. He had been watching from on top of the RV. Daryl turned to Rick.

"Are you really going to help me go get them?"

When the men got to the roof top, RickyJo was sitting on the concrete with a blank look on her face. There was a sizeable puddle of puke next to her. Glen could hear the car alarm in the background. She had ditched it a few blocks away and waited for the geeks to swarm it, then just snuck over quietly and climbed up the fire escape ladder on the side of the building. She had gotten there before them, but had still been too late. When Daryl came around the walkway towards the woman, he saw his brother's hand lying on the roof in front of her.

Daryl hit his knees crying and making a horrible guttural noise that RickyJo would hear in her nightmares for months to come. She got up and walked over to the edge of the roof. Grabbing a pole, she leaned forward, trying to see if she could spot anywhere Merle might have gone. Glen watched her, she looked like she was ready to jump. He didn't hesitate, he bolted towards her, grabbing her waist and yanking her back from the edge of the roof. She fell hard on her ass, scraping both her elbows.

"What in the fuck," Daryl said to Glen.

"She was going to jump," Glen said, pointing to RickyJo.

"I was trying to see if I could see anything," RickyJo said, getting up and brushing herself off. She looked at her bloody elbows. "Look at this shit. What the hell Glen. Why would I fucking jump?" She turned towards Daryl, and saw the hand lying on the ground at his feet. Glen was muttering about how he was sorry. If she looked at that hand again, she was going to barf again, and she turned away and took a few deep breaths. Daryl took a few steps towards her and touched her lightly on the arm. She eyed him warily, wondering if he was going to scream at her some more. On his face, she saw nothing but the pain she was feeling herself. RickyJo pulled him in and hugged him to her tightly. He stiffened and then hugged her back.

"Come on," he told her, "Maybe he is still in the building somewhere."


	6. Chapter 6

8 Years Before the Outbreak

RickyJo hauled the last box up from her truck and set in on the floor next to her bed. The room was small and the walls were concrete brick with just and tiny strip of cork where you could hand things over your bed. She had a roomate, who had gotten there a few days before. Each girl had a bed, a desk and a small closet. RickyJo's nana had gotten her a small fridge so they would at least be able to keep some cold drinks in the room. Other than that she had a meal plan to eat at the student cafeteria. RickyJo was excited, but also nervous. She had been pulled out of school in the middle of freshman year when her cousin had gotten pregnant, so she didn't even have the experience of high school to compare to this.

She was a little scared of her new roomate. RickyJo had met plently of black people before, there were a lot that worked for her grandfather and of course, Jessica's daughter was half black. But this girl looked different. Her hair was in long fat braids and coiled up on top of her head. The clothes she had in her closet looked like stuff RickyJo had only seen people on tv or in magazines wearing. While she hung her sundresses and folded up her worn jeans and shorts, putting them away in her closet, RickyJo was thinking she might not fit in here. What if all the kids at college dressed like her roomate. Today she had on an ethnic printed dress and big hoop earings. RickyJo took a deep breath and reminded herself that she had plenty of pocket money and the credit card her Poppa had given her when she left. If she had to, she would just go shopping.

Imani was watching her new roommate as well. She was from Chicago and this week was the first time she had ever been out of the state. The people here talked funny, dressed funny and acted overly friendly. She couldn't figure out if everyone from the south was really that friendly or if they were making fun of her in some strange way. And her roommate was like something off a country music video. The girl even had a cowboy hat and boots on when she showed up. And not cutie fashion cowboy boots, but worn in ones that looked years old. She heard a familiar voice in the doorway and looked up to see her brother. They were twins and had both won hard earned track scholarships to come here. They had closen this school because it was the only one that had offered them both a full ride and they wanted to go away to school together.

"Isaiah," she said, "this is my dorm mate Ericka." RickyJo stuck her hand out to the boy and he shook it. He had a warm smile. "This is my brother Isaiah," she explained.

"Ericka," she said, "but everyone just calls me RickyJo." The boy smiled again. That had to be some of the most redneck shit he had ever heard. And the girls here were so pretty and friendly. And this one was certainly no exception. She even had cowboy boots on. RickyJo looked at the siblings, feeling sad and a bit lonely. She wished Jessica could have come away to school with her. But she was pregnant. Again. RickyJo had been one of the last to arrive for school, since she had been waiting and hoping Jess would have her baby before she left, but instead she had gone past her due date. They were only two hours away, so she had just bought a pager and told her cousin to beep her when it was time. Thinking about the pager, she dug through her purse to check it and make sure no one had called her. It read no calls.

"Is that a pager?," Imani's brother asked her. The only people he knew who had pagers were drug dealers and doctors. And this girl obviously wasn't either of those. RickyJo grinned sheepishly.

"Yeh," she explained, "my cousin is 'bout to have a baby and I couldn't wait anymore to leave for school so I got this so someone could call me when it was time."

"Oh," the boy told her, "thats cool." He liked her funny little accent. But when he thought about it, really him and Imani were the ones with the accents, now that they were living here. Most everyone else talked like this girl. "Me and Imani were going to go down to the student lounge and get an Italian soda, you want to go?," he asked hopefully. RickyJo looked at her boxes. She should really finish unpacking. And she had no idea what and Italian soda was.

"What the hell," she said, dropping her stuff back in the box and kicking it into her closet, "I would like that." Imani smiled at her.

"Girl, you are never going to get unpacked," she said. Then she offered, "I can help you when we come back." RickyJo smiled back at her.

"Thanks," she said.

RickyJo followed them down to the commons area, where a lot of people were milling around. She watched what Imani and Isaiah ordered and then ordered the same. The only coffee she had ever had was out of her poppa's old dirty coffeemate. The menu here was way too much for her. Isaiah had ordered a strawberry kiwi Italian and that sounded good so she got the same. She watched the girl make it. When she saw it was just sparking water with flavoring dumped in, she was relieved. It tasted pretty good too.

They found a table and set down to make some pleasant getting to know you conversation. RickyJo was interested to find out that they were twins and atheletes and from Chicago. She had never been to Chicago, but she had been to New York and Washington DC. Isaiah was entertaining her with some stories from his neighborhood when she heard a funny buzzing noise.

"What is that noise," she asked.

"I think it might be your pager," Imani told her. RickyJo snatched up her purse and dug through it.

"I thought pagers were supposed to beep," she complained.

"Not if you have them set to vibrate," Isaiah told her with a laugh. She found the stupid dancing thing. Since only a few people had the number, it cold really only mean one thing.

"Sorry, but I got to go," RickyJo told her new friends. Then she bolted for the door and headed over to the parking garage to get her truck. She knew which hospital they were going to and it took about two hours to get there. The last thing she wanted to miss was her new neice being born.

One hour and thirty six minutes later, she pulled her truck into the parking lot at the hospital. She ran for the front desk. It felt like forever for the stupid lady behind the desk to look up what room her cousin was in and then she had to check some asshole list to see if RickyJo was allowed to go in there. She heard her Poppa's voice behind her.

"Shes good to go," he called to the woman, "Room 351." RickyJo turned and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. He had her other neice with him. It looked like they had been coming back from the hospital cafeteria. The little girl ran over and hugged her tightly.

"Mommy didn't have her baby yet did she?," RickyJo asked the girl.

"No," the girl said, "all she is doing is laying in bed." This made RickyJo and her grandfather laugh. Then all walked through the doors the woman behind the desk buzzed open for them and then headed up to the third floor to see Jessica.

RickyJo's grandmother was already in there, of course. And Merle and Daryl were sitting on a couch looking bored. Well well well, she thought, looks like someone decided this might be his baby after all. RickyJo had her own doubts, especially since Cassie's father had been hanging around about the time that Jess had gotten pregnant again. But she figured Jessica knew best who she had been doing the dirty with, and if she said it was Merle's baby, then it probably was. RickyJo rushed in to hug her cousin, who seemed a little out of it.

"RickyJoJo I had my baby, isn't she pretty," Jessica said, slurring her words a little.

"They gave her the sauce," Merle informed her.

"So much for doing it all natural," RickyJo said with a laugh.

"Yeah that lasted about an hour," Nana explained, "they should be in to check on her progress soon."

Daryl was sitting in the corner, pulling on a loose string on the arm of the awful vinyl hospital sofa. He had no fucking idea how he got roped into this, but the last thing he wanted to see was Jessica shitting out a baby. And he was bored. RickyJo was here now, which was about the only good thing about the mess.

"Back from school already?," he asked her. She walked around the bed and gave him a hug. "How do you like it?," he asked.

"I don't know yet I was only there four hours," she joked. "I didn't expect to see _you_ here," she said, giving Merle a pointed look. He shrugged. Jessica said the baby was his, so he figured he might like to have a look and see for himself. She should have taken the money he tried to give her and gotten a damn abortion, but it was way too late for that now.

Suddenly Jessica was trying to prop herself up in bed. Her grandmother was saying something about it being time. Augustus took Cassie out into the hall and motioned for Daryl to come with him. Then some nurses rushed in. RickyJo and Nana were holding Jessica's legs up and telling her when to push. Merle looked like he was about ready to run the hell out of there. RickyJo kicked him hard in the shin.

"Hold her hand," she told him. He moved closer to the bed and took Jessica's hand. At least he couldn't see as much from over here. RickyJo gave him another dirty look and then turned her attention back to her cousin.

"Good job Jess," we can see the head, "few more big ones and she will be out." Jessica leaned forward and gripped the metal bars on the side of the bed.

"Wait for the next contraction and then push hard," the nurse told her. Jessica took a few deep breaths and then bore down. Out came a big rush of fluid, her water finally breaking, and then the baby. Nana was crying and RickyJo was talking to her cousin.

"Shes out shes out, you did it!"

The hospital staff wiped the baby down and layed her down on her mother, clamping the cord and asking if anyone wanted to cut it. RickyJo offered and carefully cut it through as close to the clamp as she could. The nurses and Nana were helping to prop Jess up with pillows so she could nurse her baby. RickyJo watched them, getting her first good look at the new addition. She had a headful of dark curly hair, just like Cassie had when she was born. In fact, she looked just like Cassie had as a baby. RickyJo shook her head to clear it a little. Then she looked again at her cousin, the baby, and then she looked over at Merle. And then she started laughing. Loud. It was just that funny. That baby was black as the day is long. If that was Merle's baby, she was Miss America.

RickyJo had no idea what the appropraite response to the situation should have been, but it seemed hysterical laughter was not the one, since the next thing she knew her Nana was dragging her out into the hall and giving her a hard slap across the face. This did nothing to stop her laughter, and her grandfather was given strict instruction not to let her back into the room until she got control of herself.

"What in the hell is going on," Daryl asked her. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and tried to stop laughing long enough to tell him what was going on.

"The freaking baby is black," she told him. Now he was starting to smile.

"You are kidding me," he said. She shook her head no and motioned for him to take a look. He walked over and opened the door wide enough to get a look. Then he cracked up. That baby wasn't just a little tan, she was dark and she had an afro poof of curly baby hair. Augustus watched the two of them, RickyJo and Daryl were sitting on the floor against the wall now, just laughing themselves silly. He was thinking about telling them to dummy up but he knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Come on Cassie," he told the small girl, "lets go see your new sister." He walked into the room. While the morons in the hall were finding this hilarous, he was more embarrassed and thinking it might be best to get Daryl's brother out of there before the situation turned ugly. The man was still standing near the bed staring at the new mom and baby, with a look of shock. The hospital staff had figured out what was going on and were wearing mixed expressions of concern and amusement. Augustus lifted Cassie up and set her gently on the bed, giving her a stern warning to be gentle. His wife was taking pictures of them, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. He walked over and stood next to Merle.

"Jessica," he said to his granddaughter, "Do you have something you would like to say to Merle?" She looked at him and shrugged.

"Oops?," she offered.

"Try an apology Jessica Marie," the man told her. She shrugged again and turned to Merle.

"Sorry," she said with a smile, "guess I was wrong." She had been pretty sure the baby was his, since she had only slept with the other guy once, but it seemed once was all it took. Its not like he hadn't been sleeping around on her just the same. Augustus put his arm around the younger man's shoulders and led him gently out of the room. When Daryl and RickyJo saw him they started up all over again laughing.

"Congratulations Daddy," RickyJo told him.

"Yeah she looks just like you," Daryl added. Augustus weighed the situation, then got out his wallet. He pulled out a stack of cash and pressed it into Merle's hand.

"Drinks on me tonight," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

Present Day

It had taken them two weeks to get there, but they were finally at the CDC. RickyJo had thought it was a good idea to go there. Not because she thought they would find any anwsers there, but because she had interned there for six weeks and she knew the place was locked up like a fortress. They had their own power generators, plus food and supplies. Plus with all the abandoned military posts she could see outside, they would be able to search through and probably find some more guns and ammunition. The problem now was they couldn't get into the building. The camera was moving around so it was obvious someone was in there watching them. Those two cops were looking like they might start fighting. Again.

"Hold on," RickyJo told them. She ran back to her jeep and started throwing things around in the trunk until she found what she was looking for. It was her old lab ID tag from the university. Running back up, she thrust it up in front of the camera.

"No one out here is infected," she told the camera, "I am from the depatment of biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and I need this door opened up now." She hoped that sounded convincing. The truth was that she did work in the lab at the College, but she had been studying how to cross breed tomatoes, not how to cure infectious diseases. Everyone was staring at her and staring at the door. Whoever was in there must have been convinced because the door opened and a tall frazzled looking man was standing there. He waved everyone inside and shut the door.

"Your name is King, isn't it?," he asked her.

"Yes," she said, handing him the ID tag.

"You were my wife's intern," he said.

"Are you Jenner?," she asked him. He nodded. "Then you are right, I was her intern. That was a lot of years ago. I'm suprised you remember me."

"Its the tattoos," he told her. They didn't get too many beautful interns with large breasts and lots of tattoos. He knew plenty of the men there had been hoping she would agree to sign on and become a permanent employee. She had been a lab tech intern and had come back to go on a few overseas trips to Asia and Africa, if he was remembering right. They had a lot of extra male volunteers to go on those particular trips. Hot female lab techs were basically the scientist's chupacabra. Dr. Jenner looked down and realized he was still holding on to the woman's hand. He let go of it and stuck his hand in his pocket.

"I will need to give you all a blood test before I let you in," he told the people.

"Of course," RickyJo said, "and I would like to have a look at the results if thats alright with you." He nodded and led them to a small lab that was on that floor. RickyJo knew everyone was expecting this man to have all the anwsers, but she was doubtful that he knew anything at all. Not because he wasn't a brilliant scientist, but because brilliant scientists had been studying AIDS for over twenty years and had been unable to understand the disease. What was one man going to be able to do in the span of a month. Despite this, she was interested to take a look at any information that he had.

Everyone was eating at the table, while RickyJo perched on the counter behind them with a bottle of wine and a stack of files and papers. From time to time she would look up and ask the doctor a question that no one else could understand. He left the room and returned with the test results that he got from the blood samples he had taken from the group earlier. It was as he assumed, he wasn't the only person carrying a dormant form of the disease, it was everyone.

"Maybe we better go look these over somewhere else," he suggested to the woman. She nodded and gathered up the rest of the papers she was reading and poured herself another glass of wine, bringing it with her. Daryl watched them walking out of the room and took another drink from his bottle. When they got to the office, RickyJo kicked the door closed.

"How bad is it?," she asked him. He handed her the lab sheet.

"Everyone is infected," he started, "its a dormant form of the virus."

"What does that mean," she asked.

"It means no matter how anyone dies they are going to turn anyway," he explained. RickyJo sat down, letting this sink in. So it didn't matter. They could find a way to kill every walker in the world and it would not matter. No matter how or when someone died, they would turn. Life was never going to be normal. Not ever again.

"Is this world wide," she asked the man.

"Yes," he said, taking the chair next to her, "some locations went offline, but the same symptoms were being reported in at every CDC station in every country within days of each other." RickyJo grabbed her wine glass and was thinking about chugging it. Then refilling it and chugging it again. Dr. Jenner put a gentle hand on her arm to stop her.

"I also wanted to offer my congratulations, or rather sympathies," he said, "you're pregnant." Jenner watched as all the blood drained out of the woman's face. She dropped her glass which spilled onto the carpet. The wine looked like a blood stain.

"Are you sure?," she asked him. He picked throught the papers and handed her the results that belonged to her. Sure enough her hCG was elevated, maybe not enough to show on a urine test yet, but the blood test was clear enough. And that meant she knew who this baby belonged to.

"Another woman in your group is pregnant as well," he said, handing her another paper. Lori, it said on the top of the page. And her numbers were much higher than RickyJo's, which meant she had been pregnant longer. Which also meant that the baby did not belong to her recently returned husband.

"I would give all the money in the world," she told the man, "not to know any of this right now." She leaned her head down and put it between her knees. Here comes a panic attack, she thought. Jenner got up and rubbed her back softly.

"I'm sorry," he said. He felt the woman needed to know the truth. But telling someone they were about to have a baby that would likely die a horrible death if she didn't die one first was not something that he had enjoyed. RickyJo felt the bile rising up in her and bolted behind the desk to grab a small garbage can. She emptied her stomach into it.

"I think I need to go lay down for a while." she told him. He nodded. She looked like she could use some sleep anyway.

Daryl saw RickyJo walking out from the direction she had left with the Doctor. She looked terrible. Her face was pale white like she just saw a ghost. She took a bottle of water and headed down to the room they were staying in. Daryl got up and followed after her. She did not bother to get undressed or even take off her shoes, she just lay down and pulled a blanket over her. He could hear her crying. Now he was getting worried. What the hell had that doctor done to her.

"You alright RickyJo?," he asked her. She had not known he was there and tried to hurry and wipe up her face.

"I'm fine," she said. She thought about telling Daryl everything, but since she wished she didn't know the shit, she didn't want to put it all on him.

"What did that asshole do to ya?," he asked.

"Nothing," she said, "we were just talking." Talking, Daryl thought, talking about what. He never saw any kind of talking that made anyone this upset.

"What he tell ya then?," he asked.

"Will you come and lay down with me," she asked, "then I will tell you." Daryl shrugged. Of course he would lay down with her. After what happened to Merle, the fight they had been having seemed dumber and dumber. Life was too short now to be holding grudges over stuff that didn't even seem to matter anymore. He walked over and pulled the cushions off the back of the couch to make some more room. RickyJo slid closer to the back of the couch and felt him lay down behind her. He moved down a little so her hair was up above his head and not in his face.

"Alright," he told her, "what do you know."

"The infection is worldwide," she started, "and we are all infected."

"Fuck you mean," he asked her. He sure the fuck wasn't infected. Did he look like a damn walker.

"The infection is dormant," she tried to explain, "It just means that no matter how you die, even if you are not bit, even if its from old age, you will turn." She stopped a minute to let this sink in and see what he thought. She knew he didn't have much in the way of education, but he was very intuitive.

"So no matter what," he said, "even if we get rid of all the walkers, there will always be more."

"Yes," she said, "everything is gone for good."

"Not us," he told her, "not yet."

Rick had finally talked Dr Jenner into opening the door and people were running for their lives. Daryl went to run but he didn't see RickyJo. He turned back and saw her standing next to that doctor. He figured she was trying to talk the man into coming with them and he ran back to get her.

"Come on RickyJo," he yelled, grabbing her arm and heading towards the door. She pulled out of his grasp.

"No," she told him. She was shaking and she had tears in her eyes. "I can't do it," she said.

"Do what?," he screamed at her.

"I can't watch my baby be ripped apart by wakers," she said, "I'm sorry."

"BABY," he yelled at her, "you fucking pregnant?"

She nodded.

"Is it mine?," he asked her. She was really crying now, the tears spilling out of her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

"Its Merle's," she said. Daryl thought about this for about half a second. Then he pulled his fist back and slammed it into her face. She dropped like a rock and he caught her. Pulling her up into his arms, he ran for the exit.

The first thing RickyJo felt was the sensation of being in a moving vehicle. Her face hurt bad and the whole side of it was throbbing. She opened her eyes and looked around. The suroundings were unfamiliar but when she looked up she saw Glen in the doorway and realized she must be in Dale's RV.

"She's up," Glen yelled to someone up front. Then he took off. Daryl appeared in the doorway. He came and sat down on the bed with her.

"How do you feel?," he asked her. She thought about the question a minute. She was tired and sore, but mostly her face really hurt. Bringing her hand up, she touched it a little, which hurt more.

"Why do I feel like I got punched in the face?," she asked.

"Sorry," Daryl told her. Why would Daryl tell her sorry, she wondered, did he punch her? She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened. She remembered going to the CDC, talking with the doctor, and then she remembered what happened after. When she opened her eyes, she had the saddest look on her face.

"Did you punch me and drag me out of there?," she asked Daryl.

"Yeah."

"You should have left me there," she told him, "I am nothing but a burden now. You would be better off without me."

"That aint true," he told her, taking her hand. RickyJo turned away from him and stared at the wall. She couldn't bear to look at him when she said what she was going to say next.

"I fucked your brother," she said, feeling a tear slide out of the corner of her eye, "and it wasn't just for sex. I cared about him." She didn't need to tell Daryl that last part. He knew her long enough to know she wouldn't have slept with anyone she wasn't in love with.

"Nobodys perfect," he told her. This made her start to laugh. She turned back and sat up to hug him close.

"You aren't going to hate me forever," she asked.

"Naw," he told her, hugging her back. Really he wasn't even that mad about it, not at her anyway. Daryl pulled her down onto the bed and held her close to him, kissing her softly on the injured side of her face. Then he lay next to her, pulling up her shirt so he could rub the bare skin on her stomach. Her stomach still looked as flat as it always looked. It was strange to think that there was a tiny baby growing in there.

"Its not up there yet," she said with a smile.

"Where is it at then?," he asked. For all he knew about babies, women might store them in the ass for the first six months. She reached down and undid the button and zipper on her jeans, opening them. She took his hand and put it on her lower stomach just above her underwear.

"Its still down here for now, until it gets a little bigger," she told him. He rubbed the area in soft circles, which felt good. She layed back and closed her eyes. Daryl leaned in and gave the area a small soft kiss, then buttoned her jeans back up and flopped back down next to her.

"Are you sure its not mine?," he asked. She thought for just a second about lying to him. He looked so hopeful and Merle was probably dead anyway.

"Im sure," she told him, "but that doesn't mean you can't be the father if you want to be." He considered this for a few minutes. That sounded good to him. He would like it if he was the real father, but this was going to be his neice or nephew.

"Can I name the baby?," he asked her. RickyJo laughed. The last thing she was worried about was picking out baby names. And if he was going to take care of her and the baby, she decided the request seemed fair.

"Sure," she said, "you can name it anything you want."


	8. Chapter 8

7 Years Before the Outbreak

RickJo was sitting on her bed next to Isaiah with her legs crossed. They were each holding a spiral bound notebook and open books were set about all over the bed. She had her laptop open next to her as well. He had to write a research paper for the Enviromental Science class he was taking and she was trying to help him. Isaiah knew he could have gotten one of the other girls he knew to write it for him, but if RickyJo helped him, he would get a better grade. And it was a good excuse to spend time with her. His sister was on her own bed, listening to spanish radio on her headphones. The three of them had decided to take Spanish classes together and they were all getting pretty good. Imani and RickyJo had been talking about backpacking through South America and Mexico this summer. It would be a good way to practice the language and RickyJo wanted to look for unusual vegetables and fruits so she could send the seeds back home to her grandparents farm.

Imani snuck a look over at her brother. He was really trying to stay focused on his paper, but he was mostly staring at the girl beside him. Imani smiled a little to herself. Not even Isaiah knew the secret the girls had. A few months into the first semester of last year they had become lovers. Just that morning they had put a note on the whiteboard on their door that they were at the library, then they had locked the door and stayed in all morning, kissing and caressing each other in RickyJo's bed. Imani had always been attracted to women, but had never acted on it before. In her old neighborhood she would have been a pariah. It worked to her benefit, since she had not been interested in boys, she had not gotten pregnant and had to drop out like most of her friends. She had focused on sports and her studies and gotten a scholarship to college instead.

Both the girls were virgins, with little to no sexual experience. They had started with kissing and holding each other in the same bed. Neither of them had ever even had an orgasm before. It had been RickyJo's bright idea to look up how two women have sex with each other on the internet. Soon after that they had been missing class to stay in their room and make love, bringin each other to climax over and over again. Imani loved everything about RickyJo. Her long legs, the way even the hair between her legs was silky soft against her face when she pushed in to get a salty sweet taste of her, all of her was perfect. Imani knew RickyJo had a boyfriend. She went to visit him on weekends sometimes. But she also knew the girl had not done more with him than kiss, which gave her hope that RickyJo was not really attracted to him.

Merle had gotten a page early that morning. When he called the number back it was Jessica's grandmother. Augustus had a heart attack. He was in the hospital on life support and no one could get ahold of RickyJo. Her phone had been off the hook all day. Merle was in Atlanta, so he was the closest person to her school. She needed him to go get RickyJo and bring her to the hospital. And it needed to be soon, since he had a living will that he was not to be kept on life support.

Merle parked his bike next to RickyJo's truck. At least he knew where she lived since he had been there a few times before with Daryl. Hopefully she would be in her room or else he was never going to find her. He went in behind one of the kids who had buzzed the door open with his ID. The kid gave him a suspicious look but didn't say anything. He went up the stairs to the second floor and walked down to her room. She was in there, sitting on the bed. Merle stopped for a minute and looked at her. If he had passed her on the street he was not sure he would have recognized her.

Her hair was blonder and much shorter than he had ever see it. It was pulled into two low braids that hung in front of her shoulders and she had large silver hoop earings in. Last time he had seen her she didn't even have her ear peirced. There was makeup on her face, not a heavy Jessica whore mask, but lipgloss and a little mascara. She was wearing a tank top with the name of her university on it, and low rise jeans that showed a little bit of her belly. That looked like a tattoo on her shoulder too. And another one on the inside of her other arm. She looked so grown up, with none of the little girl shyness anymore. Merle had a strange feeling that she had definately had sex since the last time he had seen her, and not with his brother either. She had been feeding Daryl all her waiting for marriage bullshit for years now. Fucking marry her then, had been his opinion on that subject. He recognized the boy sitting next to her. She had brought those kids home with her for spring break last year, since they couldn't afford to fly home. He was pretty sure that little asshole had fucked Jessica while they were there too. Sneaky little fucker deserved an ass beating double time, and if he found out he had been putting his hands on RickyJo he was going to get one.

RickyJo had a funny feeling like someone was watching her. She looked up to the doorway and was surprised to see Merle just standing there in the hallway. He just looked so out of place. After her initial shock, her face lit up with a big smile and she moved the books out of her way and got up to embrace the man.

"This is such a nice surprise," she told him, "what are you doing here?" He had a look on his face like something was wrong.

"Your phone is off the hook," he told her.

"Oh shit," Imani said, leaning over to plug it back in to the wall. They had unplugged it so they wouldn't be disturbed while they were having sex earlier and then forgotten to plug it back in.

"Whats wrong?," RickyJo asked him. If someone had needed to get ahold of her so bad they had sent Merle over here, it must be serious.

"I think I better talk to you alone," he said, giving the other two people in the room a look.

"Oh," Isaiah said. Then to his sister he added, "maybe we should go down and get a drink or something from the commons." Imani didn't much care for being kicked out of her own room. And she wanted to know what was wrong. She and RickyJo didn't have any secrets. At least not from each other. But she got up reluctantly and headed for the door. Isaiah asked RickyJo if she wanted anything.

"Some juice from the raw juice bar," she told him, "orange and carrot please." She went to get some money from her purse but he waved her off.

"I got it," he said. She thanked him and waited until they walked away, then motioned Merle inside and closed the door, locking it so no one else would come barging in.

"Is it Daryl?," she asked. She was always afraid of him getting in a motorcycle accident. And he never wore a helmet. Merle led her over to the bed and sat her down. He didn't really know a gentle was to tell her the news. Maybe it would be best to just do it quick, like ripping off a bandaid.

"Its Poppa," he told her, "He had a heart attack. He is not going to make it. He is in the hospital on life support. They are waiting on you to get there to turn it off." She sat there for a few minutes in silence. Then she got up and started packing. Merle figured she was grabbing what she needed for the night, but soon he realized she was packing up everything.

"What the hell are you doing?," he asked her. She didn't anwser him and just kept throwing things into a jumble in a large suitcase she had pulled out from under the bed.

"Hey," he said, grabbing hold of her shoulder, "what are you doing." She shoved him hard away from her.

"Leaving school," she said, "I never should have come here. Now look what happened. If I had been home to keep an eye on him this never would have happened! This is my fault." She turned and started again with the packing. Merle watched her. He knew her whole family had been proud of her for going to school. Her grandfather most of all. Merle grabbed hold of her again.

"Stop RickyJo," he wouldn't want you to leave school like this." She shoved him again, but he held onto her this time.

"Fuck you!," she screamed into his face, "what does it matter what he wants, he is fucking dead!" She shoved at the man again, trying to make him let go of her but he pulled her in and held her tight to his chest. RickyJo pushed against his chest hard and then cocked her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. She thought that would make him let go, but instead he grabbed her hands and pinned her down on Imani's bed.

"Stop RickyJo," he told her, "just calm down." After getting slapped, he was on the brink of losing his own self control. He could feel her shifting underneath him to try and get a better angle to kick at him, so he sat on her legs. "Don't you dare fucking try and kick my fucking balls girl," he warned her.

"Let go of me!," she raged at him. She was thrasing around, trying to throw him off. He didn't want to hurt her, but this was getting out of hand.

"Stop RickyJo," he told her, "I don't want to hurt you. Take a breath. Calm down. It wasn't your fault." The last statement seemed to take the anger out of her. She took a deep breath and then her face crumbled up into tears.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, "I'm so sorry I hit you I don't know what I was thinking." Her tears were coming hard now, and Merle let go of her arms and pulled her up into his lap, holding her close. She was holding on tight to him, crying into his shoulder. Before he knew what was happening they were kissing. He pulled her down onto the bed on top of him, her braids flicking forward and bumping into the sides of his face, tickling him. Her mouth was on his, and she tasted like salt from her tears. The same thought he had earlier came to his mind again. This was no shy kissing session from an inexperienced girl. She knew what she was doing when she rolled over pulling him on top of her and letting her hands slide up his back under his shirt.

He slipped his fingers under the thin straps of her bra and tank top, pulling them down so he could push her shirt down and bare her breasts. Kissing down her neck, he buried his face in her cleavage, fondling her breasts with his hands. He rolled one of her nipples between his thumb and finger while he took the other one into his mouth, sucking hard. RickyJo arched her back, moaning softly. It felt good not to think right now. She kept her eyes closed, and when he let her nipple slide out of his mouth she guided him to the other one, sighing with satsfaction when he flicked his tounge over it and took it into his mouth.

There was a soft knock on the door, which brought Merle out of the trance he had been in. He looked down at RickyJo, her eyes shut and her hair mussed. _What the hell was he doing?_ Not only was this his brother's girlfriend. He had come here to take her to the hospital, not to fuck her. And she was upset and confused.

"RickyJo," Imani called through the door, "are you alright? Sammy said she heard yelling." This seemed to wake RickyJo up, and she sat up with a start, bumping her head into Merle. She looked down at her naked breasts and moved quickly to cover up and smooth her hair down.

"I am fine," she said, and moved to open the door. Imani came in, eyeing the mess. RickyJo's things were throw all over the room and there was an open suitcase on her bad.

"Oh my god," she said, "Ricky, you are not leaving school are you?"

"No," RickyJo told her, "I just got upset. My poppa died this morning." Imani rushed in to hug her friend.

"I am so sorry," she said, "I can clean all this up. And I will email your professors and let them know you will be gone for the rest of the week. Just go. And call me tonight so I know you are okay?"

"I will," RickyJo told her, "thank you so much." She held onto the girl a minute more, then much to Merle's displeasure, she turned and hugged the girl's brother as well. He patted her back and told her how sorry he was. Isaiah was still holding onto the drink he brought her and handed it to her lamely.

"Thanks," she told him, "I am actually really thirsty." Then she grabbed a backpack and stuffed the few things she needed into it and hugged Imani again. "I will call you tonight," she told the girl. Merle smiled a little. He wasn't crazy about black people, but at least RickyJo seemed to have a good friend to look out for her at school.

"Ready to go?," he asked her. She nodded and they headed out to the parking garage. They ended up leaving his bike there with her parking pass on it and he drove them both in her truck. RickyJo was still very upset and didn't trust herself to drive. It was a two hour drive, and they rode a while in silence, passing her juice back and forth between them.

"You don't mind I really need a smoke before we get there," she said, "and don't mean a cigarette." Merle smiled at her and nodded. He could use a little something to take the edge off as well. She grabbed a cigarette pack out of the glove compartment and pulled a joint out of it from behind the foil. Using the lighter from the car she pressed it to the end of the joint and took a long drag, then handed it over.

"Could you do me a favor?," she asked, "talk to me about anything besides Poppa?" Merle puffed the joint and tied to think of something.

"Nice tats," he told her.

"You like?," she asked him. He nodded. Usually, he didn't care much for tattoos on girls, but hers were sexy. She held out her arm so he could see the one on the inside of her arm better. It was a row of arrows, done up to look like the custom ones she used in her bow. "Daryl went with me to get it," she said, "he got a different tattoo, but in the same spot."

"Oh yeah," Merle anwsered, "Does your boyfriend Daryl know that nigger back there is putting the wood to ya?" RickyJo was startled for a minute. The first thing that came to her mind was that he knew about her and Imani. And there was no way he could know about that. Nobody knew about that, not even Jessica. Then she realized he was accusing her of sleeping with Isaiah.

"That is a disgusting thing to say," she said, "and it is not true." Merle didn't know who she thought she was fooling, but he had seen the look on her face when he brought that shit up.

"Then how come you looking so guilty?," he asked her. RickyJo thought about this a minute.

"Can you keep a secret?," she asked him. Merle had no intention of keeping her secret, but he nodded anyway. Really he was going to Daryl everything as soon as he had the chance.

Sure," he said. RickyJo thought this over. She knew Merle had a big mouth. He was going to tell Daryl a bunch of horrible shit no matter what. She guessed he might as well be telling him something true.

"Isaiah hasn't been putting anything to me," she said, "but his sister has." She gave the man a big smile and took another hit of the joint.

"What the fuck you mean?," Merle asked her. She smiled again and put her fingers up by her mouth, making a very obscene gesture. Then she sat back, looking very satisfied with herself.

"And if you even think about telling anyone," she added, "I will tell Daryl what just happened between you and me in my dorm room." She handed Merle the joint and watched him to gage his reaction. He thought about this for a few minutes. It was hard to take him by surprise and this was frankly a little shocking. He would never have guessed RickyJo was batting for the other team. She wore dresses. It did make some sense though, now that he was letting it sink in. No wonder she had never let Daryl fuck her.

"So you never fucked that boy that was sitting on your bed today?," he asked.

"No, I went to a couple parties with him, thats all," she admitted. Then she added, "I am pretty sure Jessica fucked him." Merle thought about commenting on her cousins whore status, but realized she was trying to change the subject.

"But you have been fucking your roommate?," he asked.

"Yup," she said with a shrug.

"What kind of shit the two of you be doing together?," he asked her with a wicked grin. If he had to know about this, he might as well get some enjoyment out of it. RickyJo shook her head. He was really unbelievable sometimes.

"Thats none of your business," she said firmly. He laughed. It had been worth a try. RickyJo took one last puff on the joint and put the roach in the ashtray for later. Then she reached over and took Merle's hand in hers.

"Thank you for coming to get me," she told him, "I am sorry I was acting so crazy." He was warmed by her apology. There was really no need for it, he knew she had just taken the news about her Poppa badly. He was upset about it himself. The old man had always been nice to him. Merle was pretty sure Augugstus had been hoping he worry marry Jessica. He had thought about it too, when he thought she was pregnant with his baby. Jessica would have made him a horrible wife, no pun intended, but he had thought about it anyway. Now RickyJo would make someone a good wife. Look how nice she was too him, and he didn't even deserve it. Daryl was stupid to let her go away to college with a ring on. But then, Daryl was stupid about a lot of things.

When they got to the hospital, everyone was waiting for her. Nana was in the room, sitting with her husband and Jessica was outside, sitting with Daryl. They each had one of the girls in their laps. RickyJo had a quiet word with one of the nurses. Then she approached and hugged her cousin. Her nana came out and held her.

"I'm here now," she told the old woman, "I will take care of everything." RickyJo went into the room alone and had a few minutes with the man that had been the only father she ever knew. Then everyone gathered in and the machines were turned off. Once he was pronounced dead, RickyJo turned to Merle.

"Will you take everyone home," she asked, "I can take care of the rest of things here." He nodded. She asked Daryl to stay there with her and he quickly agreed. Her grandmother started crying.

"I don't even know what he wanted done for him," she sobbed, "he would never talk to me about it." RickyJo held the woman.

"I will take care of everything," she said, "just go home and rest." The woman nodded gratefully. RickyJo and her grandfather had always been close. He would be happy with anything she decided for him. Then RickyJo turned to Jessica, "get Poppa's rolladeck off his desk and start calling everyone, we don't want them to find out on the news." Jessica nodded. She had not even thought about that. "Call Aunt Marie and have her come over and help you." Jessica nodded again. That was a good idea too. Aunt Marie was the family gossip. She knew everyone's phone number.

Merle left with the girls, and Daryl stayed there, watching RickyJo give smooth orders to the nurses and doctors. She used the phone and called a family friend that owned a funeral home. He had one of his people there within the hour to take care of everything while Daryl drove RickyJo over the the funeral home to talk with the man and make arrangements. Then she had to go to the office of the law firm that handled the family's money. There were some papers there for her to sign. Augustus had a trust set up for Jessica and her girls, and another one for his wife. But all his property and the rest of the family money was going to RickyJo. The lawyers would need to meet with her again another day. Through the day she held tight to Daryl's arm and handled everyone with grace and consideration. She accepted their many condolences on her loss, even though Daryl was ready to punch someone after the third time he had to hear the same meaningless words.

Daryl stayed quiet and wished he could do more to help her. She was the strongest woman he had even seen. She never lost her cool and never cried. Not even when she had to pick out the casket. He had no idea of the outburst she had with Merle earlier in the day in her dorm room. As he was driving her back home, he looked over to see that her head was leaning against the window of the truck. She was fast asleep, her even breath leaving a tiny round circle of fog on the glass.


	9. Chapter 9

Present Day

RickyJo stayed in her tent until she didn't feel like throwing up anymore. When she came out, most everyone had already left to look for Sophia. It gave them something to do, but RickyJo knew the girl was as good as dead. She felt bad for Carol, but mostly she was worried about Daryl. He was convinced that he was going to be able to find the girl, and RickyJo worried what it was going to do to him when he didn't. She would have gone after the girl herself, but she had been hiding under a truck with Shane far up ahead of the rest of the group and it had taken longer for the walkers to get past them.

When they got to the farm, she had recognized Maggie right away, but didn't think the woman remembered her. She was a frightful sight, with her tangled hair and dirty clothes. Plus when she interviewed scholarship candidates, she always put on a suit jacket that covered her tattoos. Hershel had been eyeing the woman, he knew she looked familiar and couldn't figure out where he knew her from. RickyJo was pruning the tomatoes, trying to make herself useful, when he approached her.

"Hope you dont mind," she said, "you got a lot of suckers on here."

"You like to garden?," he asked the woman. She didn't look like a gardener. In fact, she looked more like an exotic dancer. She smiled. People always gave her that look. She didn't mind. RickyJo always thought of her tattoos as a kind of disguise, like being in a really cute halloween costume all the time.

"You figure out where you know me from?," RickyJo asked the man. He was intrigued. How had she known he was trying to figure out who she was.

"I hope you plan to tell me," Hershel said.

"I think you knew my grandfather," RickyJo told him, "from AA. I'm Augustus King's granddaughter." It was like someone turned on a light inside his brain. Hershel knew exactly who she was now. And she didn't have the red hair so she must have been the older girl. The younger one had been the one with the scandalous pregnancy. He rememebered her grandfather fondly. They had gotten sober around the same time, and had been friends for years. After he had killed the man who had been molesting his granddaughter, Augustus had taken her in to raise her and never touched another drop. Hershel knew the man had blamed his own drinking for his daughter's problems with addiction. A year later his other daughter had died in a car crash and he had taken her daughter to live with him as well. The girls had been a few years older than Maggie. After he died, this girl had started a scholarship program in his name for women in science. She had paid for Maggie's college.

Hershel was very pleasantly surprised to run into the granddaughter of his old friend, but this presented another problem for him. He meant to make these people leave. That would be harder to do now that he knew one of them personally. He wondered how attached this girl was to the rest of the people she was with. Would she be willing to stay on after they left, or would she leave with them. He had seen this girl sharing a tent with one of the men, so she would likely want him to stay on, at the very least. The girl gave him a warm smile and held her hand out.

"Ericka King," she told him, "but everyone calls me RickyJo."

"Hershel Greene," he told her, taking her hand, "but you already knew that didn't you." She nodded and turned back to the tomatoes.

"Do you mind if I make a gardening suggestion?," she asked.

"Not at all," Hershel said. He had grown vegetables all his life, but his main focus had always been the animals. Beth was the one who took care of the garden now.

"If you plants your herbs in with the tomatoes, it will attract the bees and help repel the other bugs, and the tomatoes will help shade them so they don't bolt so fast," she said. Then she added, "I could replant some of them for you if thats okay."

"Tell you what," Hershel said, "as long as you are here, you can do anything you like with the garden."

"Really?," she asked. He nodded. "You know you also have a lot of ripe peaches," she said, "would it be okay with you if I canned or dried some of them?" He nodded again.

"My wife was the one who took care of all the canning and preserving," he said, "maybe while you are here you would like to teach my daughters how." RickyJo smiled, she would like that. And it would be nice to repay the man for some of his hospitality. Hershel thought about what he wanted to say next. He would need to phrase it delicately.

"The young man I have seen you with," he asked, "is that your husband." He knew she wasn't wearing a ring, but he felt it was the most polite way to ask about the relationship.

"Thats Daryl," she said smiling, "we're not married." She thought about the best way to explain the relationship, which wasn't exactly simple. He is taking care of me because I am pregnant with his brother's baby but he was my boyfriend before I was gay and now I'm not and we are back together would not sound the best. "He's my boyfriend," she said.

"Well," Hershel said, "since you are practically family, I thought the two of you might like to come stay in the house." She brightened right up. Being pregnant and sleeping in a tiny ass hot ass tent wasn't really so nice.

"Are you sure?," she asked.

"We have an extra room upstairs," he said, "its no problem."

"In that case, that would be amazing," she announced. Hershel smiled. If he got her inside, staying with his family, it might be easier to send the rest of the group away and invite her and her boyfriend to stay on. With Otis gone, having another able bodied man around might be a plus anyway.

"Come on inside and I will show you where you can stay," he said.

Daryl felt a terrible pain in his head. When he woke up there was an arrow through his side and a walker practically on top of him. This might be the end. He heard a noise coming from the hill above him and turned, thinking it was another walker. It was RickyJo, sliding down the hill, cussing up a damn storm and trying not to fall. After Hershel had shown her the room, she had gone looking for Daryl to tell him. Thats when she had found out he had gone out looking for Sophia by himself. She had gotten worried and gone looking for him. He had said he was going to get a look at the whole area, so it wasn't to hard to look for the highest point and head there. Then she had seen the horse running back alone. She calmed it down and gotten a hold of it, then headed to find Daryl.

She hit the ground and headed for the walker, kicking it off Daryl and stabbing it in the eye. Then she crouched down to see how badly he was hurt. The arrow went clean through, but it needed to come out of there. And the wound needed to be cleaned. She rolled him onto his side and gripped the arrow firmly, removing the fletching so it wouldn't rip the cut more. Now came the bad part. She got a lighter out of her pocket and flicked the flame under the end of the arrow, sanitizing it. With any luck, it would cauterize the wound on the way out.

"Sonofafuckingbitch," he cursed.

"Hold still," she told him. Once the arrow was too hot too touch she gripped the other end and held tight to Daryl with the other hand. Then in one smooth motion, she yanked it though as quickly as she could. She helped him to sit up. His shirt was already ruined so he took it off and she ripped it into rags to bind up his wound.

"I'm going to get the horse," she told him.

"Good," he said, "Bring it down here so I can shoot it." RickyJo laughed and he watched as she clambered back up the hill like a monkey. Then she led the horse around the long way and came up from down by the creek.

"Fuck you," Daryl said pointing to the horse.

"I will help you on and lead the horse back by the reins," RickyJo said, ignoring his remark. Daryl knew he was hurt but he still had no interest in being led around on a horse like a two year old riding a pony at the fair.

"Maybe you should ride with me so I don't fall off," he suggested. She smiled. He looked plenty well enough to hang onto the horse but she would ride with him if he wanted her to.

"Okay," she said. She helped him up, but he got onto the horse by himself, grunting when he sat down into the saddle and felt the pain radiate out from his side. Daryl sat forward, moving his feet in front of the stirrups so she could climb up behind him. She tried her best not to bump his hurt side while she held onto him. Then he made a little clicking noise and signaled the horse to go. Daryl could feel her body close behind him, moving a little against him with the rhythm of the horse. She hugged him closer and let her lips brush against the back of his neck and shoulders.

"Think I could get a little sympathy fuck later?," he asked her. She laughed softly and kissed his neck, feeling his naked chest and stomach with her hands.

"I am not sure you are going to be up for all that," she said, rubbing across the bandage. And she was worried if they fucked again he would freak out and start acting mean like after the last time. She was afraid to bring that up but thought it might just be best to get everything out on the open. "Daryl," she asked, "Why did you get so upset after what we did in Mexico?" He paused a minute. It seemed like such a long time ago. And he already knew he had been acting stupid. He had been cold and mean to her for no good reason and then his brother had been there to comfort her. And now the baby that should have been his was Merle's instead. The truth was he had heard her on the phone with Laney and figured they were going to make up and get back together. He thought she had been using him, making him think she cared so she could get pregnant and go raise her baby with her girlfriend. He had decided he would break it off with her before she dumped him first. He was afraid she would make him look like a fool and hurt his pride.

"I thought you were using me to have a baby and you wanted to go raise it with Laney," he finally said. RickyJo was upset that he would think that of her, but she was happy to finally have his behavior explained.

"Thats crazy," she assured him, "why didn't you just ask me about it."

"I heard you tell Laney on the phone that you loved her," he said.

"Oh god," she exclaimed, "I just wanted to wait until we got back to break things off with her. I felt like doing it over the phone would have been really shitty. You told me what happened was a mistake. So I made up with her instead. I was lonely and I was hurt. I'm sorry." They had broken up a week later anyway, after RickyJo had admitted to her what happened with Daryl. But RickyJo had left to go camping, so maybe Daryl never knew about that. "You know she broke things off with me anyway," she added, "when I told her that we slept together."

Now Daryl was feeling terrible. He had packed up his stuff at least once a week to go and find her while she was camping, but pride had made him stay. Even Merle had gone up to visit, while Jessica was there. Daryl had stayed in the Atlanta apartment alone and gotten shitfaced drunk every night. Then, even up at the camp by the quarry, he had kept her at arms reach. When she started spending time with his brother instead he told himself it was just more proof that she had never cared about him.

"Did you really think what happened was a mistake," she asked quietly. When he had told her that, it had hurt worse than anything anyone had ever said to her. It still hurt a little even now to think about it.

"No," he said, "but everything that happened after was." She nodded and put her lips back on his neck, kissing up into his hairline and behind his ear. It felt so good to finally hear that. She felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. While RickyJo had a few girlfriends, she had never had sex with a man before that night and she had been worried that he didn't like her anymore because she had done something wrong. Or maybe he thought she was bad in bed. She had not had any idea what she was doing, thats for sure.

"When you were mad at me," she said, "I thought you didn't like me anymore because I did something wrong... you know... in bed."

"What, like while we were fucking," he asked.

"Yes," she said. Now he was laughing at her. She was the best lay he had ever had in his damn life.

"Well I don't know," she said swatting at his leg, "I had no freaking idea what I was doing. I don't know what boys like. I thought maybe I did something weird or wrong and it creeped you out." The truth was she had put her mouth on him in places that no one else's mouth had been, but he had liked that. A lot. And he was pretty sure she had orgasmed more than once, which he had also never seen a girl do before. But he had liked that too. She had french kissed him after he went down on her, which most girls didn't like to do. All this thinking about what she did was making him think he better stop thinking about it or he was going to be rocking a giant boner when they got back for that old doctor to take a look at him.

"Trust me," he told her, "I liked everything we did."

"So did I," she said. Now that they had cleared the air, she could think about what happened between them without analyzing it all, trying to figure out what she did wrong. She hugged him close until they got to the gate of the farm, then she swung her leg over and dropped down to unlatch it. Maggie saw them and came out to get the horse.

"My dad told me who you were,"Maggie told RickyJo, "I feel bad now I didn't recognize you." Daryl looked at the girl and then looked back at RickyJo.

"Who the hell are ya?," he asked with a laugh.


	10. Chapter 10

6 Years Before the Outbreak

Daryl looked around the shop. There were a few things that looked like they needed to be updated, but it was a nice place. It had three bay doors and plenty of room. The realtor and RickyJo's lawyer guy were following her around the place commenting on things they clearly didn't understand. The lawyer looked like he was afraid to let anything touch his suit. He kept his arms very close to his body and looked at RickyJo in disapproval every time she touched something. Finally RickyJo sent the two men outside, telling them that she needed a few minutes to think it over. Then she turned to Daryl.

"What do you think?," she asked him. He looked around again and nodded his approval. It was a good place. The kind of place he might like to have someday. What he wasn't sure about was why RickyJo was looking at a car repair shop in the first place. Aside from diriving them, she didn't have much interest in cars. She didn't even like changing her own oil. "The lawyer guy said it would be a good investment," she said with a shrug.

"Doesn't that guy say that about everything?," Daryl asked.

"No," she said, "he told me I overpaid for that apartment building I bought downtown." She opened a drawer and found it empty, then closed it.

"So whos going to run this place once you buy it," Daryl asked. He was hoping she wasn't going to say she was going to do it. She could barely remember to collect rent from the tenants in her building. RickyJo gave him a big smile.

"I don't know," she said, moving in and hugging her arms around him, "Where would I find someone who is good with cars. Someone who doesn't have a job. It would have to be someone I trust. And someone who is willing to move to Atlanta." Daryl could not believe he had not caught onto what was going on before now. RickyJo had been pressing him to move to Atlanta and he had been telling her he couldn't because he didn't have a job. He knew he could just stay at her place, but that made him feel like a mooch. It was different living out on her farm property, he could pitch in there to earn his keep.

"You are not buying me this shop RickyJo," he told her. He pushed back from her and held her at arms length. He could tell by the look on her face she had something else up her sleeve. And that she was not going to take no for and anwser.

"I'm not buying it for you," she started, "I'm buying it for me. I just want you to run it for me. You would really be doing me a favor." Daryl was trying hard not to smile. He had to admit it, she was good.

"Nice try," he said. She moved back from him a step and dug through her purse until she found her phone. "Who are you calling?," Daryl asked her.

"Your brother," she told him, flipping the phone open, "he already said if you didn't want the job he would take it. I want him to come down and look at the place before I sign the papers. Make sure he is happy with it." Daryl stared at the woman in shock. He really could not believe how good she was at pushing his buttons. She might be bluffing. But it was equally as likely that she wasn't. Merle spent a lot more time in the city than he did, and he knew he usually stayed at RickyJo's apartment when whatever girlfriend he was staying with would kick him out. They really might have talked about this. Daryl grabbed the phone from her and snapped it closed.

"Alright," he told her. Her whole face lit up in a huge smile.

"Really?," she asked him. He nodded and braced himself as she flung back into his arms. "Did you really talk to Merle about this?," he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "he is the one that told me the place was for sale. He is kind of going to be working here with you." Daryl raised his eyebrows at her. He thought about objecting but he knew he was going to give in. "You can stay at my place until you find a place in the city," she added. Daryl sighed. She had told him the same thing about staying at her Nana's farm property and that had been three years ago. If he moved into her apartment here in Atlanta, he was never going to go looking for his own place.

They walked outside where the two men were anxiously waiting. RickyJo let them know what she had decided. She told she would be down to sign the necessary papers tomorrow. It always amazed Daryl the way she could switch into business mode and start ordering people around. She got that from her grandmother. When that woman told you to do something, she made you wish you had already done it yesterday. The realtor wanted her to sign the papers today, but tonight was her college graduation. Daryl had almost forgotten about that. That was why he had come into the city in the first place, before he got tricked into letting her buy a car repair business for him. After her grandfather had died, RickyJo had poured herself into her studies, and was now graduating in three years instead of four. She already had some job lined up at another university to do research for them while she earned another degree. Daryl sometimes wondered why she wasted her time on him at all. She probably had much smarter and more interesting friends from school she could spend her time with.

RickyJo woke up and gently moved her small nieces so she could sneak out of bed without waking them. The graduation ceremony had been great. RickyJo's grandmother had taken everyone out to dinner and then taken Jessica's daughters back to RickyJo's apartment while the rest of them went out to drink and celebrate. Once they got to the bar, things started to go bad quickly. Imani and Isaiah met them there and Jessica had started hitting on the man the moment he arrived. RickyJo and her friend Imani started arguing. Merle had tried to behave himself, but the drunker he got, the more pissed off Jessica and that boy were making him. Before anyone knew what was happening, Merle had the kid on the floor, beating him senseless. The bartender had called the police and he had been arrested.

RickyJo could hear Daryl talking softly into the phone in the living room. She assumed it was Merle and headed out to find out what was going on. Daryl wasn't saying much, just mostly yes and no and oh fuck a lot. After a few minutes he hung up the phone. RickyJo went into the kitchen and made some coffee. Strong coffee. She had done her fair share of drinking the night before and her head was pounding. She poured a cup for herself and another one for Daryl. She knew he had been up most of the night.

"How bad is it?," she asked. Daryl took the mug gratefully and sat down on a barstool at the counter. RickyJo came around the counter and rubbed his back softly. He had his face buried in his hands now. She knew they probably had Merle for assault, but she guessed now that it was worse than that.

"He had drugs on him," Daryl said, "and they were all portioned out in baggies. They are charging him with the assault, plus the possession, and distribution. And he punched that cop, so he got resisting arrest, and assuault on a police officer plus a drunk and disorderly."

"Oh fucking hell," RickyJo remarked, "they set him any bail?" Daryl thought for a minute about lying to her. He knew no matter how much it was, RickyJo was going to go down there and pay it. Just like she always did. And this time it was a lot more money. More than Daryl felt comfortable asking for. More than he or Merle could afford to pay her back.

"They want five grand," Daryl told her. RickyJo just shrugged and went to get dressed and get her checkbook.

"Tell Nana to call that lawyer friend of Poppa's while I am gone, okay?," she told him.

"I will," her Nana said from where she was coming out of the bathroom, "Just go on and go get him."

RickyJo dressed and got her car keys and purse. She didn't have to look up directions to the jail. This wasn't excatly the first time she had been there. She did call them first to see if she could write them a personal check for an amount that large. They told her she could. Within the hour she had Merle out and was driving him back to her apartment. She was none too happy with the man either. Imani was pissed off at her and they gotten into it worse on the phone because of what Merle had done to her brother. This time Imani had enough and had told her it was over. It wasn't the first time they had broken up, but RickyJo had a feeling it might be the last. The other woman was very imaptient with RickyJo's ongoing relationship with Daryl. When she had found out the man was moving in to RickyJo's apartment, she had been livid. _I am tired of dating a straight girl._ The words still stung a little, and her brother getting beaten up by Daryl's brother had sealed that deal. Not to mention that he had ruined her graduation party. RickyJo thought about laying into Merle a little, but he looked so bad she decided he had been punished enough already.

"We are going to see a lawyer at one," she told him.

"Can't afford a fucking lawyer," he grumbled. His head was pounding and he needed a drink.

"I will pay for it," she said.

"Fucking easy to pay for everything when you are a spoiled little trust fund brat," he told her. He could see the muscles in her face tighten up. Her hands gripped the steering wheel. Normally, RickyJo didn't let other people's opinions bother her, but Merle had a way of getting under her skin. What she really wanted to do was pull her jeep over and throw him out onto the side of the road. It wasn't her fault her grandfather had left her money. And she wasn't spoiled. Merle knew his comment would piss her off. Thats why he had said it But she was usually so cool and collected. RickyJo was the one person he knew besides his brother who just let his bullshit roll off her back like water on a duck. Normally it was a lot harder to get a rise out of her. He reached over to rub her leg. She smacked at his hand and threw it back at him.

"Keep your fucking hands off me," she told the man. He had a sudden flash of the time they had kissed in her dorm room. They had never talked about it. Merle guessed she liked to pretend it never happened. But he remembered how angry she had been and how hard she had kissed him. One good angry fuck is what he should have given her.

"You have a fight with your negro princess," he asked her. Sometimes it drove RickyJo crazy that Merle knew about that. But she had to admit, he was careful to only bring it up if they were alone. And sometimes it was nice to have someone to share her secret with. This was not one of those times.

"We broke up," she told him.

"Because I beat up her brother?," Merle asked her hopefully.

"No," she said, "because of Daryl. She said she's sick of dating a straight girl." When she said the last part, Merle could hear the slight rise in her voice like she wanted to cry. He put his hand back on her leg and this time she took his hand, squeezing it. He couldn't begin to understand the strange relationship RickyJo had with the other girl, or the even stranger one she had with his brother, but he knew she was hurting.

"So when are you signing on the shop?," he asked. RickyJo smiled. She was glad he had changed the subject.

"It was supposed to be today," she said, "so probably tomorrow."

"Can I go with you?," he asked. She nodded and smiled more. It would be nice to have someone come with her, especially Merle since he was so excited about it.

When they got back, Daryl told them that Nana had taken Jessica and the girls back home. She had a feeling if they stayed, Merle and Jessica might start going at it again. And that was the last thing anyone needed right now, especially in front of the little ones. Merle showered and RickyJo changed her clothes as well. That morning she had thrown on sweats and a tshirt to go get him and she wanted to wear something more presentable to go see the lawyer. She had already warned Merle he had better do the same. He was wating in the living room when RickyJo came out. She was wearing what he thought of as her scientist costume. Loose lightweight white dress pants and flats, with a short sleeved white jacket over a button down shirt, and she even had a shoulder bag with her. If he had run into her on the street in this getup, he would never know that she could bait her own fishing hook and shoot a rabbit through the eye from thirty paces. Her hair was tied back up in a bun and she even had a little makeup on, which she normally didn't bother with.

They got back into her jeep and she drove them to the lawyers office. Daryl had been wanting to go along as well, but RickyJo had told him no. Making Merle behave was hard enough. Wrangling them both was impossible. The office was in a tall building. It looked expensive too. Merle was suddenly very grateful that RickyJo was paying. He could never afford this. She had asked his to carry her bag up for her. The thing was heavier than he expected. What the hell did she have in there anyway, rocks?

They shook hands with the lawyer, who to Merle's relief was an older white man. The lawyer had a small stack of papers he went over with them. He talked a little about getting some of the evidence thrown out and pleading the rest of the charges down.

"What if we would rather just have this all go away?," RickyJo asked the man. The man looked at her. Nomally he would not even meet with someone over such a small criminal charge. He only took this meeting because he knew who this girl was. Merle gave her a dirty look as well. What the lawyer had been saying didn't sound that bad. The lawyer cleared his throat.

"Well that would take considerably more of my time," he said, "If you wanted all the charges dropped completely, that is." RickyJo eyed the man and leaned back in her chair.

"How much?," she asked bluntly. The lawyer hemmed and hawed for a minute talking about how much his hourly charge was and everything he would need to do to get the charges dropped.

"How much?," RickyJo asked the man again.

"Fifty thousand," the man finally said. Merle about shit himself. That was a lot more than he had expected. Someone was getting bribed in this scenario. RickyJo just nodded like someone was asking to borrow five bucks.

"Hand me my bag please," she said to Merle. He just stared at her for a minute, then snapped out of it and grabbed for the bag. She opened it and started taking out stacks of cash. They were all bundles of one hundred dollar bills. Each one had to be ten grand at least. Merle realized his mouth was hanging open as he stared at her and he shut it. She took out five stacks and set them on the man's desk. The man opened his desk drawer and put the money inside.

"You can notify us by mail when the charges are dropped," RickyJo told the man. He nodded, then stood to shake both of their hands. Merle was silent all the way until they got into the elevator. He knew RickyJo had money. But he had not known until now that she had that much money. She had paid that man like she was paying a bar tab. And where has she gotten all that in cash.

"How much fucking money you got in that bag?," he asked her finally.

"Enough," she told him with a smile, "guess its lucky for you I am a little trust fund brat." Merle was speechless. It was hard having your own mean words thrown back in your face like that. He said nothing, but pulled the woman into his arms and hugged her close.

"Why did you do that for me?," he asked her softly. She hugged him back and didn't anwser at first. The truth was she did it because she cared for him. She couldn't bear the thought of him sitting in a tiny box. locked up like an animal. Here in his arms, she was scared to say how she felt.

"I can always make more money," she said, "but Daryl only has one brother." She looked up into his eyes and he knew she was lying. She had not done this for Daryl. The elevator stopped and opened with a ding and they walked out to her jeep arm in arm.

"You hungry?," he asked her. She nodded. Aside from her coffee that morning she had not had anything to eat or drink all day. "Let me drive," he said. RickyJo handed him the keys. She usually did not like other people driving her cars but she was curious to see where he was going to take her. He headed out of the city and up the road that she knew went up the mountain. They stopped at a small truck stop where he made her wait in the car while he went in. Merle came out holding two large paper bags that he set in the backseat next to RickyJo's money bag.

They pulled up near a large clear lake. RickyJo could tell by the way the rocks were cut it was a man made quarry. There were a few groups of people swimming and sunning themselves. RickyJo put her bag with the money in the trunk and got out her picnic blanket. Merle led her away from the other people and found a good spot close to the water but not too close. She layed down the blanket and they sat down to eat sandwiches and drink beers out of the bags. RickyJo saw a family of ducklings and fed them her chips, laughing as they gobbled them up. When the food was gone, the ducks lost interest in her and wandered off. She lay back on the blanket, letting some of the exhaustion of the day finally set in. Merle laid back as well, using her stomach for his pillow. She looked up at the leaves and the trees, stroking his hair and letting her fingers twine a little into his curls. He needed a haircut.

"Is this how you do it," she asked him softly.

"Do what?"

"Get all those girls to sleep with you," she said. He laughed a litle. Merle doubted any of the bar flies or biker whores he slept with would be impressed with a sandwich picnic. Only RickyJo liked things like that. She had been so cute feeding those little ducks, and she had even gotten a gentle pet in on one of them, before the mother duck herded them away out of her reach.

"No," he said, "I just get them drunk." This made RickyJo laugh, he could feel her stomach moving under his head.

"We should go back soon," she said, making no move to get up. Merle was happy where he was as well, but she was right. It was going to start getting thick with bugs if they stayed out here much longer. He rolled over and pulled her shirt up, revealing just a tiny sliver of the bare skin of her stomach, where he planted a tiny kiss. Then they both stood up and got their things together so they could head back to the car.


	11. Chapter 11

****This story is rated M for mature. As always I own nothing from the Walking Dead. If you have read this far I would love a review.****

Present Day

RickyJo turned over towards the side of the bed and grabbed for the garbage pail out of reflex. Once she got ahold of it, she noticed she wasn't even sick. In fact, she felt wonderful. She got out of bed quietly and tiptoed to the bathroom so she wouldn't wake Daryl. Lately she felt like for every cup of water she drank, she had to pee at least five times. The sun was just starting to come up, so she decided to climb back into bed for a while longer rather than get up. She might just be to the point of her pregnancy where she was no longer feeling sick, but she guessed not sleeping in a hot stuffy tent anymore might have more to do with it.

Daryl was still fast asleep, his breathing slow and even. They had been sleeping in the same bed together but since his ribs were hurt, they had not done anything more than kiss and hold each other. RickyJo snuggled in, putting her head on his chest and putting one leg over him. She could feel him hard against the inside of her thigh. He explained to her after the first night that all guys got like that in the mornings. RickyJo could tell he thought it was funny how little she knew about the workings of the male body. In her opinion, which she had kept to herself, he didn't know as much about women as he thought he did either.

She rubbed his bare chest under the blankets, loving the feeling of his skin where it was touching hers. Rolling away from him, RickyJo pulled her nightshirt off over her head and tossed it down towards her feet and leaving her in only her panties. Then she turned back, pressing her skin against his. He stirred a little, making a pleasurable little moan, but didn't wake up. She was suddenly feeling brave, and very turned on. Kissing his bare chest, she moved down to his stomach, pushing the blankets out of her way. Even with the fan on, it was hot in the bedroom and he was only weaing a pair of boxer shorts, which she pulled down enough to reveal his impressive morning hard on.

RickyJo did not have much experience with giving oral sex to a man. Daryl was the only man she had ever had in her mouth, and only once before this. If how much noise he had made had been any indicator, she guessed she had been doing it right. She may not know much about men, but she knew how to use her mouth. This time she started at the base, running her tounge up the back of him. She circled his head with her tounge, getting a good taste of him. He tasted like she remembered except less like tequilla and limes this time. She took as much of him into her mouth as she could, trying to be careful not to scratch him with her teeth.

Daryl was starting to wake up, fighting it so he could stay in the wonderful dream he was having. He and RickyJo were back at the cabin. It was the day they met but insead of going shooting, she had taken off her clothes for him slowly, dropping them on the floor where they melted away. Then she had knelt down in front of him and taken him into her mouth. When he woke up they were in their bed in Hershel's house and he was coming hard into her mouth. She moved him in and out of her mouth a few more times until she was sure he was finished and then rolled off, wrinkling her nose up as she swallowed it down. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Well good morning," he told her, rubbing his face to try and wake himself the rest of the way up. RickyJo crawled back up, pulling the blanket with her and nestling down in the crook of his shoulder. She didn't say good morning back to him, just lifted her hips off the bad so she could push off her underwear. Then she kissed him on the neck and reached for his hand, putting it between her legs. When he slid a finger into her, he could feel how wet she was. She let out a soft moan and rocked her hips a little to encourage him. He added a second finger and slid them in and out of her, applying upward pressure. Her moans got louder and she turned into his chest to muffle them. Then she was spasming around his fingers, gasping and gripping his shoulder, digging her nails in. He slid his fingers in and out of her a few more times and then took his hand away. She turned into him and wrapped her legs around his thigh, grinding against him and riding out the rest of her orgasm. He felt her relax against him after that, her arms and legs limp like noodles.

"Good morning," she murmered into his neck. He held her close, pulling her tight to his chest. It was the best morning he had in a long time. But now the thoughts of what was happenening that day were starting to crowd in. They were going to have to figure out what to do with that kid Rick and Glen had brought back from that bar when they had gone to fetch Hershel. Some people thought he should be allowed to stay and become part of the group, and some people thought they should kill him. RickyJo had yet to give her opinion on the subject and Daryl was curious what she was going to say. She had her own plans for the day, which involved talking her new friend Beth into getting out of bed and doing some cooking with her. The girl had taken the death of her family members hard, but RickyJo had shut the door and had a long talk with her. Her father had been nervous about what the woman would say to his daughter, but when RickyJo had come out, Beth had seemed much better.

"We are having that meeting later," Daryl said. RickyJo just gave him a little mmhmm noise like she could care less about the meeting. He thought about pressing more and asking her what she thought should be done with the boy, but he didn't want to spoil the mood. They started to kiss again but were interrupted by a small knock on the door.

"Come in," RickyJo said. Beth opened the door. Daryl and RickyJo were both covered with the sheet but Beth turned red anyway to see them there in bed together. She stammed a bit and then spit out what she needed to say in her soft little voice.

"You said to wake you," she reminded the woman, "to help with the chickens."

"I will be right down," RickyJo told her. Beth backed out quickly, shutting the door. With all her tattoos, Beth found RickyJo to be very strange and exotic, and the man she slept with looked rough and dangerous. Beth often found herself wondering what kind of things they did when they were alone together. Probably things that were a lot more exciting than getting groped behind the barn by Jimmy. She swore that kid had two left hands. He grabbed at her breasts like he was reaching for the last roll on the dinner table.

True to her word, RickyJo was downstairs in a jiffy, tying on one of the gathering aprons and talking to Beth about canning the ripe tomatoes and making some fried green tomatoes with the rest. Beth had been surprised to learn the woman knew all about cooking and canning and had grown up on a farm. She sure didn't look like a farmer's daughter. When Beth had been ready to kill herself, RickyJo had talked to her for a long time and told her a lot about herself. She had also promised to give the younger girl bow lessons and teach her how to defend herself against the walkers and against other people. They were gathering eggs from each of the coops when that man that had opened the barn and shot her mother walked up and started talking to RickyJo.

Beth listened to their conversation. They were talking about that man that was tied up in one of the sheds, the man that her dad and Maggie's boyfriend had brought back with them from town. No one had asked Beth what she thought about it, or even bothered to let her know what was going on. She was suprised to learn that they thought the man was dangerous and some people wanted to kill him. It seemed he also came from a large dangerous group that was somewhere in the area. Beth had believed her father when he told them they were waiting on a cure. It was still hard for her to understand that this was the way the world was now, and that life would never be normal again.

RickyJo was worried about Shane. No matter how she felt about him personally, they were a stronger group with him as a member. And it was becoming clear to her that he was losing it. She had followed Dale when he went to hide the guns. Shane had not known she was there, but she had heard what he and Dale had said to each other. She also knew that Lori was pregnant with his baby, and had been debating on telling him. He had a right to know, but she didn't want to make the situation between him and Rick any worse. If she was him, she would want to know.

"Shane," she said, "I think we have something I need to tell you, privately." He glanced towards Beth, who had obviously been listening to them talk about Randall. RickyJo let the girl know she would be right back and they walked away around the side of one of the barns. She sat the man down and took the spot next to him. He started up about that tied up kid again, but she stopped him.

"I don't mean to sound cruel but I really don't care what you do with that guy," she said, "He never should have been brought back here." Shane nodded.

"What you want to talk to me about then?," he asked. RickyJo took a deep breath. She was thinking about the best way to put this. Lying and telling him she knew the baby was Rick's might be the best option. But she would rather try and tell him the truth. Shane was curious. He didn't know much about this woman, he had avoided her back at the camp since she was always hanging around with Merle and Daryl. He had not idea what she would have to talk to to him about.

"Lori is pregnant," she started, and then asked, "she is telling you its Rick's?" He nodded. Now he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"You know different?," he asked her. RickyJo took his hand and explained to him everything she had seen on the blood tests at the CDC. He stared at the ground. The news about Lori's baby he was glad she told him, but he wasn't so sure about the rest. No wonder she had wanted to kill herself after she found out.

"Theres never going to be an end to this, there is no help coming," she said softly to the man, "and we need you here. This isn't about a fight you and Rick are having over a woman. You have got to start looking at the bigger picture. Rick is a terrible leader, he is going to get us all killed. I will back you up, but you have got to stop acting so crazy." Shane was suprised to hear her say all that, but he should have guessed she hated Rick, because of what he did to Merle. She hesitated and then added, "I know what you did to Otis and I don't care."

"How do you know that?," he asked her.

"You said he covered you so you could get away but you came back with his gun," she anwsered. Daryl had told her that. He always noticed things she didn't. "And I followed Dale when he went to hide those guns, when I saw you coming I hid," she added. That made Shane laugh a little, she was sneaky and smarter than she looked.

"What were you going to do with the guns?," he asked. She shrugged a little and figured the truth was best on this as well.

"Keep them and let Dale take the blame for losing them," she admitted. Shane laughed. It was not a bad plan. If he had been thinking smart, its what he should have done instead of confronting the man. He was starting to understand why Daryl and his brother liked this girl so much. "Don't laugh," she said elbowing him a little, "Its your fault I didn't get them. Jerk."

"Alright," Shane said, "so I'm all in now. What are we going to do about the guy tied up in the shed?" He knew RickyJo had said she was going to back him up as leader, but he was thinking now she might be the better candidate for the job. At the very least he was going to want her as a close advisor.

"Its not about what we are going to do with him," she anwsered, "It about what he can do for us."


	12. Chapter 12

Present Day

Everyone was in the main room of Hershel's house for the meeting except Carl, Beth and Jimmy, who had been sent upstairs. RickyJo thought that leaving them out was a mistake but she decided to keep that to herself. She was leaning against the doorway next to Daryl and getting bored fast with the annoying moral debate that was taking place. Daryl noticed that Shane kept looking over at them, giving RickyJo questioning looks. She kept shaking her head at the man. Daryl had no idea what was going on between them but he didn't like it. RickyJo knew Shane would want to bring up their plan straight away but she was not going to be drawn into a moral debate with Dale. Now the man was calling everyone out by name and making them say directly that they wanted to kill the man. When he asked her she told him exactly what she thought.

"I am about to walk out there and shoot that kid myself if it means I don't have to hear you talk anymore Dale," she told him. Then for good measure she added, "Since you are not the one who needs to worry about getting gang raped when your new best friend takes off and tells his group where we are, I think its time for you to shut the hell up." Several people gasped and Dale looked shocked. He turned on his heel and stormed out. Then Daryl saw another weird look pass between RickyJo and Shane. She gave him a little nod. Her job had been to get rid of Dale, now it was Shane's job to sell her plan to Rick.

"Okay," Shane said, "I am done with the moral debate." A few people nodded. They had not been happy to be called out by Dale. "We need to know where the man's camp is, and we need to know how many of them there are and if they are really a threat."

"I could talk to him again," Daryl offered. RickyJo shook her head at him. Anyone with half a brain knew information gathered under duress was unreliable. The kid would just tell Daryl any bullshit he thought Daryl wanted to hear to make him stop. Shane knew he was supposed to act like this was his big plan, but he also knew Rick was mad at him over Lori and he could tell by the way he was looking he was going to argue with anything he said.

"RickyJo," Shane said, "Tell them what you told me earlier." She threw the man a dirty look. RickyJo liked to fly under the radar. She did not want people knowing this was her idea and she also didn't really want Daryl to know she and Shane had been plotting together. She could tell people were looking at her with a lot of curiosity, especially Hershel and a lot of the women. Maybe this would be best coming from her. She stepped forward and straightened up her back.

"I think we should take him back to town and let him go where you found him." A few people started to object but Daryl and Shane shushed them up. "We will act like we are dropping him off and then follow him back to his camp. Then we will know where they are and how many of them there are and we can decide what to do next." She left out that she and Shane planned to kill him as soon as they found the camp, before he could get back and tell them about the farm. And she left out that they planned to kill the rest of his group in their sleep if they looked like a threat. People were nodding now, even Rick. It was a good plan.

"How you know he won't figure out what we are doing," Daryl asked. She had thought of that as well.

"I will go in and untie him," she answered, "act like I am busting him out without anyone knowing because I felt bad for him. Then take him back to town where you guys will be waiting."

"Not by yourself," Daryl told her. He thought this was a good plan but he didn't want RickyJo alone with that man.

"She won't be by herself, "Andrea said.

"I can help too," Maggie said.

"Actually," RickyJo said, "thats not a bad idea, lets tell him the men here have been mistreating us. We want him to take us back to his camp with him. Then we don't have to chance losing him on the way back to his camp."

"You think he is going to believe that?," Tdog asked the girls. RickyJo cocked her hip out and suddenly her body language turned sexual. She gave the man a little wink and blew him a kiss, then laughed.

"He'll believe it," she said.

Shane, Daryl, and Tdog had already left to go hide out in the bar downtown. Rick had not been happy to stay behind but Shane and RickyJo had ganged up on him, saying someone needed to stay behind in case the plan went bad and that group found out where they were. The girls waited about a half hour, to give the guys enough time to get set up. Then they each grabbed back packs and snuck into the shed. RickyJo pulled the blindfold and gag off the man. He started up right away running his mouth but she put her finger to his lips and told him to be quiet. Maggie was at the door acting like she was a lookout. RickyJo leaned in close to the man, whispering to him and being sure to give him a good look down her shirt, which was low cut. Andrea was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Men were so stupid.

"We are going to get you out of here," RickyJo told the boy, "but you have to take us with you." Randall looked around at the three attractive women and quickly agreed. RickyJo leaned in with the keys and uncuffed him., making sure to press her body against him a little while she did it. Andrea bent down closer to him.

"If we get you back to where they picked you up at," she asked, "can you find your camp from there?" He nodded again. The girls helped him up and handed him some water.

"Can you walk?," RickyJo asked him.

"Yeh, yeh," he answered, "I can walk."

"Alright," she said, "follow us and be quiet." Maggie peeked out the door like she was checking to see if the coast was clear. Then they all headed out and snuck around to the driveway. They had a car parked down at the end near the road and they all climbed in. Now that they were away from the house Randall started up yammering and blabbing his mouth. They didn't even have to give him the story they had agreed on, he wasn't even asking them why they were helping him. When they pulled up to the bar, Randall wanted them to keep driving but RickyJo told him they were going to have to walk from there since they didn't have enough gas. They all got out and started off down the street with Randall and RickyJo in the lead, Maggie and Andrea following behind them. Andrea looked back a few times towards the bar, hoping the guys were there and ready to follow them. They had walked about two miles, stopping a few times to take out walkers that got too close to them. Soon they could see the light of a campfire coming up ahead.

"That your camp?," RickyJo asked him.

"Yeh," he said with excitement, picking up his speed in the direction of the fire. She let him get a little ahead of her and pulled out a handgun with a long silencer on the end from under the back of her shirt. Without any hesitation she lifted the gun up and shot the man in the back of the head, dropping him instantly. Maggie and Andrea just stared at her. She got a flashlight out of her bag and turned it on, turning back the way they had came and waving the light back and forth in front of her.

"You were planning to shoot him all along," Andrea said.

"Yeah," RickyJo told her, "it would have been to risky to let him go. If anyone asks, he tried to jump me." The girls both nodded. Maggie wasn't sure how she felt about what happened but she was glad the man was no longer a danger to them. The girls waited a few minutes in silence for the guys to catch up with them. Then they let Daryl and Shane take the lead as they snuck up on the camp. There was a man standing a few yards away from the fire. He looked like he was supposed to be keeping watch, but he was much more interested in watching what was going on next to the fire. Shane grabbed the man from behind and snapped his neck. They sneaked in closer to see what had been so interesting to him that they had caught him unaware.

Daryl could see that RickyJo had been right. Everything Randall had told him about his camp was a lie. There were not forty men, more like about a dozen, and this was not a family group, it was all men. They had two teenage looking girls and an older woman they were holding down near the fire, taking turns raping them. Daryl went to charge in, but Shane grabbed him back.

"Spread out around the fire," he told everyone, "when you hear me whistle, start shooting." They all nodded and moved off to do what he said. Daryl kept close to RickyJo, making sure to keep her in sight. They each got positioned behind a nearby tree to block any crossfire. Then they aimed and waited for Shane's signal.

The men were drunk and having a good time. They had happened upon another group earlier and shot all the men. The supplies and women they had brought back here to have some fun with. Most of them didn't even hear the loud whistle that rang out through the air and before they even knew what was going on, all of them were dead. RickyJo darted in to calm the women down before they took off. The girls were crying and looking up at her with big scared eyes.

"No one is going to hurt you," she told them, "put your clothes on and lets get out of here." The older woman turned and spoke to her.

"They threw our clothes in the fire," she said. RickyJo looked around at the dead men. Then she turned to one of the girls.

"He looks about your size," she said, bending down to take the man's shoes and socks off, then yank off the rest of his clothes. Andrea and Maggie came in to help them. Andrea turned to Shane.

"There are a lot of supplies here," she said, "and I am not sure how far they are going to be able to walk. Maybe you should go back for the cars." Shane nodded and took off back the way they came, taking Tdog with him. While they were gone, Maggie and Andrea helped the girls find something to wear while RickyJo and Daryl rounded up anything useful. Maggie was surprised when she saw they were even going through the men's pockets, but they found a bunch of smaller weapons, lighters and even some batteries. The older of the three women finally regained some composure and introduced herself to Andrea.

"Tracy," she said, sticking out her hand. Andrea shook it and told the woman her name, then introduced everyone else. The girls were Sarah and Sammie. They were her daughters. The younger of the two was still crying. RickyJo appraoched her and kneeled down to talk to the girl.

"They didn't do anything to ya that a shower wont fix," she said to the girl gently, "It has happened to all of us at one time or another. You are going to be fine." The girl nodded and sucked up her tears. Her mother smiled at the woman.

"Thank you," she said, "I am pretty sure they were going to kill us when they got done." As soon as she heard the men had thrown their clothes in the fire, RickyJo had know the men were going to kill them. "What happens now?," Tracy asked her.

"We are taking you back to our camp with us," RickyJo told them all, "No one will bother you there."


	13. Chapter 13

4 Years Before the Outbreak

Their were a few people milling around in the waiting room, flipping through the large glossy picture books. RickyJo sat down in one of the chairs until she saw a large man with flaming orange hair and a big beard coming around from the back of the shop. He wrapped her up in a quick hug.

"You really making me do this today?," he asked her. She laughed and nodded. "You sure you don't want a skull or a really bad ass tribal?," he suggested.

"Nope," she said, "I want the rainbow butterflies." Everyone at the shop was going to be teasing him about it, but she knew he would do an amazing job. Except for the very first one she had gotten done with her cousin at another shop, this man had done every single one of her tattoos. "I promise if you do the butterflies for me I will let you do the iguana on my thigh," she told him. He seemed pleased with this offer. At home he had a pet iguana and he had been sketching it and waiting for someone to let him put one of his drawings on skin.

A pretty girl that had been milling around the waiting room looked over with some interest. She had noticed the tall blonde girl as soon as she came in, but had not bothered to talk to her since she figured she was straight.

"Rainbow butterflies?," she asked. The large man nodded as though he thought it was the worst idea ever.

"Not just butterflies," he told the girl, "A rainbow butterfly ass cap." RickyJo was laughing now.

"You have got to make it look sexy," she reminded him. The girl came forward and held out her hand.

"Laney," she said. RickyJo took her hand in hers, feeling a sudden charge of electricity. The girl was a few inches shorter than her and had tan skin and long thick dark curly hair. She was thin through the waist but curvy in the hips and chest. There was something about her that RickyJo liked instantly.

"RickyJo," she told the girl, and then pointed to the large man next to her, "this is Tiny." The girl started to laugh. It was a funny nickname for such a large man. Tiny looked at the two girls. RickyJo had a boyfriend that came in with her sometimes, but he had been wondering if she batted for the other team on occasion. Now he was sure.

"Why don't you come back with us and check it out," he suggested to the girl, ushering them both back to his booth. He got out the drawing he had made for RickyJo and had her look where he was placing it. A few other artists popped in to say hello to RickyJo and laugh at the big man who had been drawing out rainbow butterflies all week. The girls talked a little, getting to know each other. Laney showed off a tattoo she had on her foot. The more RickyJo looked at the girl, the prettier she thought she was. She had straight white teeth and short round fingernails. When she spoke it was soft and throaty, what some people would call a whiskey voice. RickyJo was starting to get the feeling that unlike her, this woman was openly gay.

Laney checked her phone for the time. She would like to stay and talk some more, but she was due to open the restaurant she worked at soon. RickyJo really wanted to see this girl again but she wasn't sure what she should say. It turned out the girl did the work for her.

"I am working until around nine," she said, "maybe we could meet for a drink later and talk some more."

"Yes," RickyJo told her, "I would like that." The girl wrote her number down for RickyJo on a piece of paper and left. Once she was gone Tiny offered his opinion.

"Whats your boyfriend going to think about that?," he asked. He was curious if maybe they had some kind of arrangment and was even more jealous of the man than he had been already. It was on every guy's bucket list to have two women at the same time and these two were hot enought to count as two each. He made no secret about his attraction to RickyJo, even though she seemed oblivious to it. She was humble and beautiful and always had a kind word for everyone. He had done his best work on her and considered her his muse.

"He's not going to think anything about it," she said, "because he will never know." Damn, the man thought, he didn't know it was like that. Personally he thought she ought to tell the man, he didn't know a man in his right mind that would be upset about something like that. Then he had another thought. He knew RickyJo was quiet and private about her personal life. Just because some people had no problem parading their sexuality all over town, didn't mean everyone felt that way.

"Does anyone know?," he asked her.

"No," she said, shaking her head. She didn't even really know for sure how she felt. Merle knew about her old college roommate and she guessed he suspected more but he had not brought any of that up in a long time.

Daryl got done late at the car shop. Merle had not shown up for work again, leaving him to do the work of two people. He finally called it quits and closed up the shop alone, having sent the other guys home around dinner time. Parking his car in the garage under the apartment building where he lived, he thought about heading upstairs to go straight to bed. Then he changed his mind and decided to head next door for a drink. There was a small local bar next door to their building where they went all the time for drinks. It was friday and he bet RickyJo was over there anyway.

The place was crowded and he elbowed through and ordered a beer from the bartender. Then he looked around for RickyJo. He spotted her at the far end of the bar talking to a pretty dark haired girl. The girl was not someone he recognized but he guessed she was from the college. He started to head over but something about the way they were looking at each other made him stop. They were sitting on barstools, but their bodies were turned to face each other. The dark haired girl was leaning in close to whisper something to RickyJo. RickyJo had her hand on the upper part of the girl's arm touching her lightly. He took his beer and went to one of the high top tables against the wall, where he could watch them.

They were not doing anything overtly sexual to each other, but he was getting a strange feeling about them just the same. It felt like finding the last piece of a puzzle on the floor under your chair. Daryl was supposed to go out with his brother after work today. When they went out he usually did not come home until very late or early morning. _Is this what she does when she knows I won't be home?_ He knew they were not technically together but it made him mad just the same. RickyJo could have told him years ago that she was into women and saved them both a lot of grief and wasted time. He didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. He would watch them a while longer first.

RickyJo was listening to a funny story Laney was telling her about a seafood delivery when she felt all the hair on her arms stand up. Someone was watching her. She looked over by the door and around at the other people sitting at the bar. No one seemed to be looking her way. She guessed it must have just been her imagination, and rubbed at the bumps on her arms.

"Are you cold?," Laney asked her, touching her shoulder.

"No I just got a weird feeling there for a minute," she said, "Like someone was watching me."

"Don't you live right next door?," Laney asked her with a suggestive smile. RickyJo nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. She had not been with anyone since Imani and that had been some time ago. They had been paying for their drinks as they went, so they didn't have tabs to pay. The girls got their purses and headed for the door. Once they got outside, Laney leaned in closer, taking her hand. RickyJo wasn't quite sure what to expect when they got back to her apartment. At least they would have the place to themselves since Daryl was out with his brother doing whatever it was that they did. RickyJo suspected they went out looking for women to have some sort of anonymous sex with. It didn't make her jealous the way some girls would have been. After all she couldn't expect Daryl to wait around for her forever.

RickyJo got her key out and opened up the door to the building. Once they were inside, Laney lifted up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on her lips. RickyJo slipped her arms around the woman's waist, pulling her close and kissing her back. Then she took her hand and headed for the elevator. When the doors dinged closed, they really started kissing. RickyJo touched the woman's long soft hair. Her lips parted and when their tounges met, RickyJo could taste the fruity drink the woman had ordered at the bar. It was like pineapple and cherries and heaven all mixed together.

The elevator stopped and opened, letting them out on the third floor. There was a small hallway and only one door. RickyJo tried to get her key in the door while the other woman was still trying to kiss her. Both women were tipsy from the drinks they had at the bar. RickyJo dropped her keys, and pulled Laney into her arms, kissing her hard on the mouth, making them both giggle. The woman backed off a little.

"Open the door," she said with a smile, "unless you want to get it on out here in the hallway." Slamming her key into the lock, RickyJo twisted it and shoved the door open, making it bang against the wall inside. This made them both laugh again. Laney followed her inside and watched her kick the door shut and lock it. She looked around at the apartment. It was much bigger and nicer than she had expected. She thought the woman had said she worked for the university. This was a nice place to have on a teacher's salary. There were a few doors down the hall and Laney figured the girl must have roommates. No one seemed to be around right now, and Laney was glad. RickyJo headed for the kitchen to make them each a drink.

"I have a hot tub up on the roof," she suggested to the woman. Laney smiled. She would just as soon go straight to the woman's bedroom, but there was nothing wrong with a little romance.

"I'm afraid I didn't bring my suit," she said.

"Oh shit," RickyJo said, remembering the large bandage on her back, "My tattoo." Laney had forgotten about that as well. She wasn't sure how long you needed to wait to go swimming after a tattoo but she guessed it was more than a few hours.

"Don't worry about it," she said, "we can hot tub next time." RickyJo smiled. She liked that the woman had implied she wanted to see her again. Laney picked up her drink and took a sip.

"Where is your bedroom?," she asked. RickyJo was nervous about what she should say so she took her hand and led her down the hall. She left the overhead light off and got a few candles she kept in the bathroom by her tub. She lit them and set them on her bedside table. Laney came in, shutting the door behind her. This room was nice too. The bed was big and soft and she could tell the blankets and sheets were expensive. She took another sip of her drink and handed it to RickyJo, who set both the drinks down near the bed. Then she turned and pulled her shirt up over her head, leaving her bra on for now. Laney did the same and then climbed onto the bed, patting the spot next to her. RickyJo crawled up onto the bed and pushed Laney down onto the pillows, kissing her. Their kisses got deeper as they pulled at each other's clothes, rolling around on the bed. RickyJo loved the safe feeling she got kissing another woman. There was no fear of going to far and what the woman might do to her. Kissing and touching was all that girls did, and a woman would never try to force her to do something she wasn't ready for.

Pushing her lacey bra out of the way, RickyJo kissed the other woman's breasts, sucking each one of her nipples until she moaned. Then she pulled her own bra off and unbuttoned her pants, wincing as she lay back on her new tattoo to push them down. She saw Laney had rolled away and was taking the rest of her clothes off as well. She had full hips and a tiny waist with full natural breasts. There was a black tattoo on her right hip of a flock of birds in flight. RickyJo thought it was one of the sexiest things she had ever seen and she leaned down to kiss it. Laney gave a soft sigh and let her legs fall gently open. Going softly at first, RickyJo leaned in and got a taste of the woman. She tasted sweeter than Imani had, and the little patch of hair that she had was soft and silky. The rest of her was waxed smooth.

RickyJo flicked her tounge across the spot where she knew the woman would like it best, when her hips started to move, she slipped her fingers inside, making Laney cry out in delight as she found her release. She gave her soft parting kiss and crawled back up to hold her close. Laney held her tight until she caught her breath then she pushed the other woman onto her back. RickyJo put her hand to the bandage on her lower back and winced in pain.

"I am so sorry," Laney told her, "I forgot."

"So did I," RickyJo said with a small grin. Laney thought this over. She didn't want the woman to be uncomfortable.

"Get on your hands and knees," she told her. RickyJo was taken aback for a minute, Imani had never done anything to her in that position. She quickly decided she was game for whatever was going to happen and did as Laney told her. She felt the woman come around behind her, nudging her legs further apart and kneeling between them. Then she felt the woman's fingers on her, rubbing her clit. She moaned. There was something sexy about kneeling down like this and being so exposed. Laney slid her thumb inside the woman, sliding it in and out, getting it wet. then she increased the pressure and speed on her center of pleasure while she slid her wet thumb into her ass. She wiggled the tip of it back and forth with the rhythm of her other finger until she felt RickyJo start to spasm. Then she pulled her hand away from the woman's clit and shoved two fingers inside her wet opening, fucking her fast and hard with them. She smiled when she heard the woman cry out and she knew she was coming a second time. Laney finished her off and they both collapsed onto the bed, snuggling and kissing each other.

"It is alright if I stay the night?," Laney asked her. RickyJo just pulled her closer and kissed her again. Of course she could spend the night.

"You need anything?" RickyJo asked her softly. Laney nodded. She was thirsty and she really did not want to drink anymore alcohol. She was going to be hung over enough in the morning as it was.

"Water?," she asked. RickyJo kissed her and grabbed the big tshirt she usually slept in from the back of a chair, pulling it over her head. Then she took the drinks with her to dump them out and get some bottled water out of the fridge. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Someone cleared their throat loudly behind her, and scared her so bad she felt like she almost jumped out of her skin. She turned to find Daryl standing there staring at her with his arms crossed.

"Fuckin christ on a cross," she told him, "you scared the goddamn hell out of me." He just stood there staring at her. "I thought you were going out with Merle," she added.

"Its pretty fucking obvious you didn't think I was here," he told her. She cursed silently to herself, wondering how long he had been there. Then she thought about the weird feeling she had back in the bar.

"You were watching me down in the bar," she said.

"Yeah," he hissed, "when you put on a fucking show like that people are going to look." Now RickyJo was getting mad. She hadn't been doing anything at the bar. She and Laney had only been talking and laughing together. Before she could respond, Daryl moved in and grabbed her hard by the arm.

"All that waiting until you are ready shit is bullshit," he said, moving in so his nose was almost touching hers, "really you are fucking dyke-ing it up behind my fucking back, that it?" She could see the tears welling up in his eyes now. RickyJo didn't know what else to do, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. She felt him go stiff and then he hugged her back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his neck, "I never meant for you to find out like this. I only did this once before and that was a long time ago." He pulled back, holding her at arms length.

"You haven't been fucking other dudes have you?," he asked. She shook her head vigorously.

"No, it was Imani," she admitted. He sighed in relief. He had always thought something strange was going on between the two girls and while he wasn't happy about it, it was nice to finally know the truth. RickyJo heard a soft tread on the other side of the counter. It was Laney.

"Is everything okay?," the woman asked. Really she had heard their whole conversation and decided it was time to go. She liked feminine women and this would not be the first time one of the girls she dated ended up having a boyfriend.

"Everything is fine," RickyJo told her. She had not meant to drag this woman into her personal dramatics. "Sorry," she added. Laney waved her off.

"Its okay," Laney said, "I will call you tomorrow, alright?" RickyJo nodded. Laney noticed the man was looking at her but he didn't say anything. She gave RickyJo a little wave and headed out the door, shutting it behind her. Daryl watched her go. He had to give it to RickyJo, at least she had good taste. That chick was totally hot. Hotter than any girl he had ever gotten in the sack.

"Merle flake out on work today," she asked. RickyJo knew Merle had been using again. She guessed it wouldn't be long before he would disappear for a while as he was prone to do when he went on a bender. Daryl nodded. "You eat yet?" He shook his head no. Now that he was thinking about it he realized he was starving.

"Its not that late and I'm drunk," she said, "you want to order takeout and watch a movie?" Daryl laughed. He supposed he did want to. He pulled RickyJo in and held her close. As much as he tried, it was impossible to stay mad at her.

"Alright," he said.


	14. Chapter 14

Present Day

Looking from face to face as they sat around the small campfire, RickyJo could tell everyone felt as beaten down as they looked. They had secured the fences and tried to stay quiet, but in the end a herd had swept through and destroyed the farm. She tried not to think about the people that died. Sarah, one of the girls they had rescued from Randal's group had panicked and tried to run. Her mother Tracy and Patricia had gone after her and all three of them had been swarmed. Sammie had tried to go after her sister and mother, but RickyJo and Beth had grabbed her and dragged her to the truck. Now she was sleeping with her head in Beth's lap, having cried herself out about an hour ago. Jimmy was dead as well, and Andrea was gone. No one saw what happened to her, but they had heard gunshots coming from a few miles away earlier that day. RickyJo hoped her friend was alright, but knew the chances of her making it alone were slim.

Glen and Rick took first watch, so everyone else was supposed to be sleeping. A few people had passed out from sheer exhaustion, but most were sitting up, staring into the small fire. RickyJo was leaning back against what was left of the brick wall behind her with Daryl's head in her lap. He was sleeping. She combed her fingers through his hair, trying to get the little peices of leaves out. They were going to need to find a new place to live. And soon. She was thinking about going back home to her grandmother's farm. It was a long way away from where they were, but the trip might be worth it. The place had high walls and plenty of food and water. That was if it had not already been overrun or taken by another group.

Rick walked away from the group and headed down by the small creek they had gotten their water from earlier. RickyJo suspected he was going down there to cry. He had made it off the farm with Carl and Hershel. Shane had saved Lori, and the way they were sitting together by the fire spoke volumes. RickyJo was glad the woman had finally made her choice, instead of jerking both men around, but she felt bad for Rick anyway. She saw Carol was still awake and motioned for her to come over.

"I am going to check on Rick," she whispered, "will you sit here so Daryl doesn't wake up?" Carol nodded and took her place as carefully as she could, trying not to wake the man. RickyJo headed down to the water. She felt bad for Rick, but was also worried for the group if things came to blows between him and Shane. They didn't need anyone else getting hurt or killed. Rick was crouched down by the water with his head in his hands. RickyJo knelt next to him and gently placed her hand on his back. He looked over hopefully, hoping it was Lori.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I know you were hoping I was Lori." RickyJo fell quiet, trying to think of what she could say to the man. There wasn't really anything that would make it better.

"She is _my_ wife," he said, gesturing towards the fire.

"I know," RickyJo said, "but she is pregnant with Shane's baby." She watched his face to gauge his reaction. This was not going well. He looked ready to kill the man.

"Think about Carl," she told him, "he needs you. And the rest of us could use your help too." Rick thought about this. He was thinking he might take Carl and leave the group. But that would only be best for him, not Carl. The hard truth was, they were safer with the group. RickyJo could see the man's body language start to relax. She got up and headed back towards the fire. Shane was still awake and she motioned for him to follow her. When they got back down to where Rick was, he stood up.

"I think you two might have some things to talk about," she said, "like what we are going to do in the morning." Both men nodded reluctantly. They were going to have to work together and they might as well start now. RickyJo turned and headed back for the campfire.

"Where you think you're going?," Shane asked her. She turned and smiled at him. "Don't play like you don't already have a plan," he added.

"My plan was to get you two to stop hating each other so you could make the plans," she said.

"Bullshit," Shane told the woman, "you got something else cooking." Rick smiled a little despite himself. He knew Shane wasn't much of a strategic planner. Now he knew where the man had been getting all his good ideas.

"Alright," she admitted, "I was thinking we could try for my Nana's farm, but its a long ass haul from Atlanta. I think you guys should figure out what to do for the next few days." Shane knew a little about the farm from talking with the woman before. They had kicked around the idea of going there before, but trying for a long shot had seemed like a bad idea when they had a safe place to stay at the time. Now they had nothing to lose.

"It's South of here, right," Shane asked. She nodded. It was down near the Florida border.

"We are going to need supplies for that long of a trip," Rick said. Shane nodded and RickyJo smiled at both of them. It was good to see they could at least work together for a common cause. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. The stress of the last day had been tiring for everyone but even more for her. Rick looked at the woman. Even in the dim light he could see how worn out she looked. "Why don't you go get some rest," he suggested to her, "we can figure out the rest." She nodded gratefully.

"Daryl said wake him and Tdog up and they can take watch," she said. They both nodded and she walked back towards the fire. She glanced back at the men, happy to see they had their heads together, planning and talking. Carol was fast asleep with her head leaned back against the wall. RickyJo lay down next to her and Daryl and rested her head on her arms. Within minutes she was asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Present Day

The winter had been tough. Everytime the group tried to push South, a herd had gotten in the way or the road had been hopelessly blocked. They had been moving from house to house, finding food and shelter where they could. Now they were almost out of gas. They had tapped out every station in the area that might have any. With RickyJo and Lori getting closer to the end of their pregnancies, finding a safe place to hole up for even a few months was getting more and more important. And everyone was starting to feel desperate.

RickyJo held her bedroll, with a large backpack on her back. She was outside a house with Lori, Beth, Sammie and Hershel, waiting for the guys to make sure it was clear of walkers. It made her mad not to be in there, helping them, but even she had to admit she wasn't moving so fast these days. She winced a little, feeling her stomach seize up in a contraction. Hershel had assured her that they were what he called braxton hicks contractions. Then in the middle of it, the baby punched her in the bladder, almost making her pee herself. She sucked in her breath and let out a quiet string of some of the most foul words Beth had ever heard.

"I think you forgot sonofabitch and fuckinbastard," Sammie told the woman, making her laugh a little despite the pain. She gripped her stomach, feeling the muscles finally start to relax Hershel stepped forward to check on her.

"You know," he told her, "God made the last few months of pregnancy uncomfortable so you would be less afraid of giving birth." She turned and gave the man the most evil stare he thought he had ever seen. He had to try hard not to start laughing.

"I love you Hershel," she told the man, "but I swear if you say that shit to me again, I will fucking cut you." Now he was laughing. "If this baby doesn't get out of me soon I am going to reach in there and yank it out myself."

"Now that would be a sight," Hershel told her, stepping back quickly out of her reach. Lori laughed at the woman. Personally she was not so eager to give birth since she knew it would likely kill her. When she had been in labor with Carl, she had almost died and had to have an emergency C-section. Her doctor had told her she would have to have another if she ever got pregnant again. They had not told any of the guys, but Lori and RickyJo had made a pact to care for each others babies if anything happened to either one of them. Though they had not been friends initally, the women had bonded over the winter. Going through their pregnancies together they had found they had a lot to talk about and many of the same fears and hopes in common.

Tdog appeared at the front door and waved them inside. The place looked a little worse for wear but it was better than sleeping in the cars. They had looked all day for a house with a fireplace so they could boil some water for drinking and heat up the last few cans of food they had with them. RickyJo dropped her bags on the couch and got out her fire making kit. She might move slower but she could still make a fire. Rick and Shane went outside to get some wood. Daryl knelt down on the floor next to her to see if she wanted help. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before going back to her fire. He could see the awkward way she was kneeling down, trying to lean in, but her big belly was getting in the way.

"I can do that," he offered. He expected her to object, but she just sighed in frustration and handed him the flint and the knife. Then she walked back over and dug a small tub of lotion out of her bag. She sat on the couch and pulled up her shirt, revealing the stretched skin of her stomach which was itching her like crazy. She rubbed in the lotion, which made the baby start kicking her again. Beth watched as she saw a small arm push out and move across the woman's stomach. Then she could see a larger bump appear towards the top, jutting out to the right, making her stomach look lopsided. RickyJo pushed gently at the lump, trying to make the baby move to a spot that was more comfortable for her. On the table in front of her was a dead owl.

"Did you shoot an owl?," she asked Daryl. He nodded. For some reason this made her start to laugh. She pulled her shirt back down and picked up the owl to start pulling the feathers out. As skinny as the thing was, it was hardly worth the effort. She handed it to Beth and grabbed her bow and arrows.

"Where you going?," Daryl asked her.

"Just out on the back porch," she said, "see if I can get a few squirrels." Daryl nodded. Shane and Rick were out there, so she would be alright. He noticed Sammie got her bow and followed the woman. RickyJo had been teaching the girl, along with Beth, showing them how to fight walkers and how to bow hunt. While Beth had only gotten fair at it, Sammie had turned out to be a natural. Now she was almost as good a shot as RickyJo.

"Don't go too far," Hershel reminded them. Both girls nodded and headed out the back door. There was a bird feeder on the back yard and a woodsy area behind the house, which looked promising. The girls spread out and turned their eyes to the trees, watching for movement. RickyJo was also checking the ground for tracks, it looked like they might have better luck rabbit hunting. She followed the small trail into the neighboring yard where she saw why there were so many rabbit tracks. They had not seen it from the road, but the neighboring house had a small vegetable garden out back. She heard Sammie come up quietly behind her. They got as close as they dared and then counted off to fire at the same time. Sammie hit a fat rabbit and RickyJo got a groundhog. Both animals had been gorging themselves on the garden vegetables. The sound of the arrows scared another rabbit close by and RickyJo nailed that one too as it ran for the cover of the woods.

"Score," she told the younger girl. They gutted the animals and then held their shirts out and filled them with everything from the small garden that looked edible. Shane was carrying a bundle of wood into the house when he saw them walking back. RickyJo had her bow slung over her shoulder, two rabbits and a fat groundhog dangling from one hand, the other holding a bundle in her shirt. He dropped the wood on the porch and went to help her. She handed him the animals gratefully and leaned in so he could see the bundle of vegetables she was carrying.

"We are eating good tonight," he exclaimed.

"Whatcha got there?," Daryl called from the porch. Shane held up the animals for the man's approval. "Hell yes," Daryl added. He tried not to think about it, but he was hungry. And he knew if he was, RickyJo had to be hungry too, and he didn't like to think about that. He took some of the wood inside and added it to the fire. RickyJo came in behind him to poke through the kitchen, looking for some rags and a potato peeler she could use to clean up the vegetables. She heard Daryl's steps behind her before she felt his arms go around her. He rubbed her belly and she could feel his soft breath on her neck.

"You get all them critters yourself?," he asked her. She shook her head.

"Sammie got one," she answered, "I got the other two." She reached her arms behind him, pulling him close and turning a little to kiss him. They had not had much privacy lately and she was hoping to get some alone time with the man later. She guessed it was the pregnancy hormones, but regardless of the reason she had been feeling hot and bothered lately. The last few nights she had even been dreaming about sex, and had woken up feeling hot and wet between her legs. Daryl felt her pressing her body close to him and he moved his hands up to cup her breasts, parting her lips with his tounge.

Sammie cleared her throat loudly in the doorway of the kitchen. "Did you find a potato peeler or not?," she asked. RickyJo pushed away from Daryl and straightened herself up. She picked up the stuff she found from the counter.

"Right here," she said, holding up the wanted item. Sammie took the items with a smile.

"You look tired," she told RickyJo, "maybe you ought to go upstairs and lay down for a while. Beth can help me with the food." RickyJo turned to smile at Daryl. It wasn't a bad idea to seize the moment now. Later they might be too tired or have to leave and go back on the road. Daryl took her hand and led her quickly up the stairs. When they had checked the house earlier, he had seen a room at the end of the hall with a big bed that had looked pretty clean. The top blanket was dusty, but the sheets under it were clean. RickyJo closed the door behind them and started trying to reach down to unlace her boots. She realized she couldn't reach them and started cursing. She didn't mind having a baby but getting all big and bumbling was pissing her off.

"Just let me do it," Daryl told her, kneeling and pulling at her laces. They were double knotted and now he was cursing, trying to untie them. "Who fucking tied these?," he asked. RickyJo laughed and told him Carl had tied them for her. "Goin to kick his ass," Daryl announced. He finally got the ties loose and RickyJo kicked her boots off, then stepped on the tips of her socks with the opposite foot to pull them off as well. She pushed her pants and underwear down and kicked them off as well then debated on taking the time to remove her shirt and bra.

"You want to get totally naked?," she asked.

"Hell yes," he told her, yanking out of his own clothes and tossing them in a pile on the floor. He hadn't bothered to unbutton his shirt and was trying to yank it off over his head instead, and now he was stuck in it. RickyJo heard the loud noise of fabric ripping and then he was tossing it on the floor. She had pulled her own shirt off but was laughing so hard she couldn't unsnap her bra. He came around behind her and undid the tiny hooks for her. As she pulled the straps from her arms and let it drop to the floor, she felt his arms come around her, cupping her bare breasts. Suddenly she didn't feel so much like laughing anymore. She put her hands over his, squeezing down harder.

"You want it rough?," he asked her, nipping at her neck a little. She nodded and made a little mmmhmm noise, then reached back to pull his hips hard against her. The thought that he might hurt the baby always crossed his mind but RickyJo had assured him many times that if it didn't hurt her, it wouldn't hurt the baby either. He pushed those thoughts out of his head and pinched each of her nipples, rubbing them and pulling at them a little. She moaned and arched her back, pushing her ass into him.

RickyJo felt his skin against hers and his hands on her. Since they actually had a bed to use for once, she had been thinking they could climb into it and take their time kissing and fondling each other. But as soon as she felt his breath on her neck she knew she needed it now. Leaning forward, she put her hands on the wooden frame of the bed to steady herself and then moved her legs apart. She felt his hands come down from her breasts, one gripping her hips and the other sliding into her from behind, making sure she was ready. Then she felt him move that hand to hold the other side of her hips as he pushed into her with his full length. He was pushing into her hard and fast, and she could feel the pleasure building up inside of her, getting ready to wash over her in waves. She gripped the frame of the bed hard with her hands, and with each thrust, the headboard of the bed was banging into the wall behind it.

Downstairs, Hershel could hear a banging noise coming from the upper level. At first he was concerned by then he noticed several people were laughing at the noise. He looked around and saw Daryl and RickyJo were conspicuously absent from the group. Hershel shook his head. He could hardly blame the man. Even in her condition, RickyJo was an attractive woman. He also knew it was perfectly healthy to have sex while pregnant, but he felt the two young people took it a little far sometimes. He had gotten after Daryl a few times when the two of them had been roughhousing and wrestling with each other. If thats what they did in front of everyone, he didn't want to think about what they were doing when they were alone.

"I still don't think that kind of activity is healthy for a woman in that condition," Hershel remarked, glancing up the stairs to where the loud thumping noises were coming from. A few people snickered, especially Beth.

"Geez Daddy," she said, "How do you think she got in that condition?"

"Bethy!," he remarked in surprise at her crude comment.

"Whatever," she shrugged, "Its true." Now he started to laugh. It was true. "I wish they would hurry up," she added, "when RickyJo cooks the rabbits they always turn out tender." Beth headed back out onto the back porch as her father stared after her. She picked up her bow and headed out with Rick to help him get some more firewood. Hershel still liked to think of her as a little girl, but he could see now she had grown up into a woman without him realizing it. He also noticed that Rick was walking close to her, watching to make sure she didn't trip or walk into any low hanging branches. Over the winter, the tension between Rick and Shane had slowly eased. And Hershel wondered now if that had something to do with Beth. Rick often took her as his partner when they went out on runs, but Hershel had thought it was because the man felt he needed to keep an eye on her. RickyJo had been working with her, teaching her how to use her bow and knife, but she was still inexperienced and panicked easily. Now he wondered if there was another reason besides just her safety. Hershel wasn't sure how he felt about it. On one hand he didn't like the idea of his young daughter dating a man so much older. And he wasn't sure he wanted her drawn into the complicated triangle that was going on between Rick and Lori and Shane. But on the other hand, Rick was a good man. He could protect Beth. And if something happened to Hershel, he would want her to be taken care of. Hershel decided for the time being he was just going to keep a closer eye on his younger daughter. Maybe nothing was even going on.

Rick led Beth through the trees, past the area that had already been picked through. Once there were a few trees between them and the house he felt Beth reach in and take his hand. She gave him one of her sweet little half smiles and he gave her hand a squeeze. He always felt he was doing something wrong when he was with the girl, even thought all they had done so far was kiss. Lori was with Shane, he still felt like he was cheating on his wife. And there was Hershel to consider as well. Rick wasn't sure how the man would feel about his daughter having an older married boyfriend, but he guessed it would not make the man too happy. Rick had thought a few times about breaking things off with her, but he found he had been unable to go through with it. The more time he spent with the pretty young blonde, the less it hurt him to see Lori and Shane together. When they got to the area he was heading for to get more wood, he found himself pulling Beth in close and holding her to his chest. She hugged him back, happy to have a few moments alone with the man. She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the cheek. He pulled her tightly to him again and then let her go and set about picking up firewood. Beth wished they could just tell everyone that they were together so they wouldn't have to sneak around so much but she knew Rick didn't want people to know. He said it was because he thought her father would not approve, but she wondered if he really didn't want Lori to know because he was still hoping to get back together with her. For now Beth was resigned to wait as long as it took for him to be ready, but she hoped it wouldn't be too long. Right now every day felt like forever.

Beth was brought out of her thoughts by a walker than had wandered up on them silently. She dropped the wood she was carrying and grabbed for her knife. Before she could get it, the thing had ahold of her shirt and Rick had to stab it in the head and yank it off of her. Once it was on the ground, he kicked it a few times and swore at it. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. They had kissed a few times but nothing like this. Beth opened her mouth to accept his tounge as he crushed her against him, one hand in her hair, the other around her waist. The way he was kissing her was making her dizzy, like she was drowning in the kisses. She put her arms up tight around his neck and felt his hands on her ass, squeezing it and lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around him. Then as quick as that happened he had her back on the ground, holding her at arms length, both of them breathing hard.

"Are you okay?," Rick asked her. She wasn't sure if he meant from the kissing or the walker grabbing her.

"I'm okay," she answered. She went to move closer to him again, but he backed up.

"I think we better get the wood and get back," he told her. She nodded. Beth didn't know what to say. One minute he had been shoving his tounge down her throat, now he wanted to look for wood. Theres another kind of wood I would like to look for, she thought to herself. Then she giggled a little at how dirty the thought was. Don't be such a nasty little pervert, she told herself with a grin, making sure to stay a little behind the man so she could watch him bending over to pick up the firewood. She picked up what she had dropped and as much as she could carry and they headed back to the house together.

Much to everyone's delight, RickyJo was back down from upstairs, cooking the rabbits the right way. She had them on spits, roasting over the fire.. Carol always watched RickyJo when she cooked game meats, and this time she thought she figured out the secret. RickyJo had stuffed onion and herbs inside the rabbit and then closed it up before she roasted it. Maybe that was what made it so good. The groundhog was fattier, so she took the meat off the bones and put it in a big cast iron skillet with all the other vegetables they had found to let it all cook down slowly in the fat. The promise of a good meal had everyone in high spirits. Now RickyJo and Tdog were making groudhog jokes. The jokes were terrible, but they were making everyone laugh anyway. Carl came out with the only food he had been able to find in the kitchen. He was holding two cans of dog food. Carol looked at the cans and back at the dinner they were about to eat, instantly grateful that she had people with her who knew how to hunt.

"Put that shit back where you found it," Tdog told the boy.

"Hold on hold on," RickyJo said, "don't be so hasty." She took the cans from Carl and set them down on the table. Then she took the can opener and cracked one jar open. Daryl watched her with some amusement.

"You aren't really going to eat that shit," he said hopefully. She laughed and got the spoon she had been using to stir the grounghog stew and fished a large spoonful out of the can. Giving Carl a wink, she shoved the whole mess into her mouth, chewing it and trying to make herself swallow.

"I have to tell you something about your cooking Carl," she said to the boy with her mouth full, "this shit tastes like dog food." Now Carl was laughing hard. "I will give you fifty bucks to take a bite," she told the boy. Lori looked on from where she was resting on the couch with her feet up.

"Don't you eat that Carl," she told him.

"Don't listen to her," Shane added, "go on and have a bite." Lori laughed and threw up her hands. RickyJo handed the can and spoon to Carl and darted towards Daryl, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Give me a kiss," she told the man. He was shoving her away playfully, trying to duck away out of her reach.

"Get away from me," he told her, "your breath reeks like dogfood." RickyJo let him go, and turned back to Carl.

"Going to do it," she asked, "Or are you chicken?" Then she put her arms on her waist, flapping them and making copious bocking noises. Carl decided to take the bet and shoveled a large spoonful of the Alpo into his mouth. Now he was choking it down. "No money if you puke," RickyJo informed him. Carl swallowed hard and opened his mouth to show it was empty. Several people applauded and RickyJo fetched him some cash out of her backpack.

"What are you doing with cash anyway?," Shane asked her as she handed the bills over to Carl.

"Honestly," she said, "It makes good tinder for the fire if you shred it up."


	16. Chapter 16

Present Day

Everyone was quickly gathering their things together, stuffing them into bags and backpacks. At least they had gotten a chance to finish eating before the walkers showed up. Shane and Daryl had gone out and killed the first few but now there were too many. RickyJo looked around, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Lori and Beth were doing the same. With everyone ready, they all headed out the back door and snuck around to where the cars were parked. The walkers were piling up at the front door, and as she climbed into her jeep, RickyJo saw the door cave in as they surged into the now empty house. She sighed and shut the car door. Like everyone else, she had been hoping they could at least sleep the night there. Now it was getting dark and they were going to have to spend the night in the cars or outside on the ground.

They headed up a road they knew. There was on open spot up the hill where they sometimes parked the cars in a circle to offer themselves some protection from the dead while they slept. RickyJo stood on the hood of her jeep, looking down the hill. From there she could see the prison. They had kicked around the idea of trying to take it several times before, but then they had still been planning to head south and try for RickyJo's farm. After all these months getting there was looking more and more like a pipe dream. Even she was ready to give up and a new idea had been brewing in her mind. Daryl climbed up and stood next to her, slipping his arm around her waist.

"What do you think about trying for the prison?," she asked. He thought it wasn't the worst idea he had ever heard, but he was sad to think they were giving up on going home.

"I think we could do it," he said. Shane came over and offered his opinion.

"We don't have to stay there forever," he said, "but it could be a good spot to sit tight until the babies come." Daryl nodded. The man was right. Even if they could push south, the chances of them making the farm before one of the girls went into labor were slim.

"I don't want to have my baby on the road," RickyJo added. Daryl held her close. He didn't want her to have her baby on the road either. Shane felt for them, he wanted Lori to have a safe place to give birth too. He had promised to take care of her, and it was a promise he meant to keep.

"Lets get some sleep," Shane told them, "we can try for it in the morning."

Taking the yard had been easier then they had guessed it would be. Lori, Beth, Hershel and Carl had banged on the fences distracing the walkers, while Daryl, Rick, Shane, Glen, Maggie and Tdog had pushed in, killing them with their hand weapons. RickyJo and Sammie had covered their backs using with their bows and arrows. Sammie was getting good, RickyJo was proud of her. They cleared the yard and closed up all the gates and fences behind them. One of the dead guards had a set of keys on him, which Rick nabbed before they pushed their way inside the cell block.

The place was a horrible mess, but it seemed secure. The place looked like it had fallen quick, which was good for the group, since it meant there might be a kitchen full of food somewhere inside. Rick, Shane and Daryl left to go see if they could find the cafeteria, while everyone else stayed behind. Carol looked at RickyJo.

"Might as well start cleaning up," she suggested. RickyJo nodded and they grabbed one of the dead bodies by the legs and started dragging it outside. Everyone else followed their example. The cell block wasn't any cleaner, but at least it wasn't full of dead walkers anymore. RickyJo looked around. The place was a bit of a mess but it was better than sleeping in the car or on the ground. Once they cleaned it up, it might not be so bad.

"You think we should pull the cars up and bring our stuff in?," she asked. Glen shook his head. The cars were still outside the main gate.

"Lets wait until the guys get back," he said. Tdog nodded his approval. If they went out to get the cars and anything happened to RickyJo or Lori, Daryl and Shane would have him and Glen's balls for breakfast. Instead, they poked around, exploring the place and picking out their rooms. RickyJo heard some loud voices coming from the front section of the cell block. Beth heard them as well and the girls rushed out to see if the guys had found anything. To their surprise, the men were not alone. Five other men in prison jumpsuits were with them. Most of them looked unarmed, but one was brandishing a small handgun. He had long greasy hair and stared at the two women in a way that made RickyJo's skin crawl.

"Get back inside," Daryl told her. She moved quickly to comply, grabbing Beth's hand and pulling the girl along with her. The man turned to Rick.

"How many women you got in there?," he asked.

"None of your fucking business," Shane told the man. He had not liked the way the man had looked at the girls and if Lori had been standing there, the man would already be dead.

"No reason to be stingy," the man said, "you all want some of our food, I'm sure we can work out a deal." Shane did not reply. He just raised his gun and shot the man in the forehead, dropping him where he stood. The smallest of the three black men made a grab for the gun the man had been holding, but Shane kicked him hard in the ribs, giving Daryl time to snatch it up and stuff it in his belt. Rick and Shane grabbed the man and dragged him to the outside door. They shoved him outside and shut the door behind him. He took off running and Shane raised his gun to shoot him down. Rick pushed his hands down.

"Just let him go," he said. Shane would have rather shot the man, but since he was as good as dead anyway he decided not to make an issue out of it. They came back in where Daryl had his bow pointed at the other three man. Tdog and Glen had come out and their guns were trained on the men as well. The remaining prisoners were looking terrified and the older white man had his hands up like he was trying to surrender.

"We ain't got no interest in your women," he said, "please don't shoot me." The man continued rambling on until one of the black men told him to shut up.

"His ass deserved that shit," he said, pointing to the dead man on the floor in front of him, "But we don't." RickyJo was peeking out around the corner now, with Beth and Sammie. Hershel came around from behind them and walked towards the men. He was worried Shane might gun the rest of the men down and that did not seem necessary.

"Did you find any food?," Hershel asked Rick. Rick nodded but the older white man with the curly mustache spoke up again.

"We got plenty of food," he said, "we would be happy to share it with you if you would agree to not kill us dead." Hershel turned to Rick with a questioning look. What were they going to do with these men. RickyJo could see now that none of the men left had guns, so she stepped back out of the cell block.

"How much food you got?," she called over. Daryl turned around and threw her a dirty look. He had told her to stay inside. She called to Shane and motioned him over to her. Rick watched Shane walk over to the woman with some irritation. RickyJo would ask his opinion occasionally, but he knew who she really trusted.

"You think we ought to kill them?," Shane asked her under his breath. She took his arm and pulled him back into the cell block with her.

"Actually I was thinking exactly the opposite," she said. Shane was surprised. When had RickyJo gone soft.

"You for real?," he asked her, giving her a look that let her know he thought she was crazy.

"They know this prison inside and out," she started, "we could use their help." Shane cursed a little under his breath. She was right.

"What if they try something?," he asked.

"I think its worth the risk," she said, "and I think if they were going to try anything they would have already done it when you shot that guy in front of them." Daryl had walked over to see what RickyJo had to say about the men. And if Shane was going to come back out and shoot them dead, he wanted some advance notice.

"She's right," Daryl said reluctantly, "this place is a fucking rat maze and without any help we are flying blind in here." Shane took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He knew she was right, he didn't need Daryl to tell him.

"I want the guns locked up and don't want any of them armed until we can trust them," Shane said. RickyJo nodded her approval. Just because she was willing to give the men a chance didn't mean she was planning on giving her guns away. Shane walked out and let the men know if they showed them where the food was, they were willing to let them stay here with the group. Rick looked surprised but didn't say anything. He had been sure Shane meant to shoot the men. Later he planned to ask Daryl what RickyJo said to them. Shane and Rick dragged the body of the man Shane had shot outside to the burn pile. The rest of the group began coming out of the cell block to get a look at the new members of the group. Hershel and Tdog introduced themselves to the man, but most people kept back away from them.

Axel was suprised to see how many women filed out of the cell block. It seemed like more and more of them kept coming out. Old ones, young ones, pregnant ones, he tried his best not to stare at them after what had happened but he couldn't help but take a small peek. He had been on the tenth year of a sixteen year bid and he had not seen a woman in a long time. He hoped at least one of them wasn't already spoken for.

The next day, Carol was boiling drinking water from the creek and RickyJo was staking out tarps to kill the grass. It was easier than digging up the sod with shovels. She had already taken a liking to the big black man the other men called Tiny. She guessed it was partly because he reminded her of her old tattoo artist that had gone by the same nickname. He was helping her stake the tarps into the grass and asking her a lot of questions about what she had seen over the last year. The men from the prison were having a hard time understanding that the whole civilized world had come to an end. They had thought some sort of prison riot standoff had been going on, and that the national guard would eventually come in and rescue them. Suddenly finding out that the entire population along with everyone and everything you had ever known had been destroyed was a lot to take in.

Beth came down carrying a huge pile of bed sheets. They were out of tarps, but her dad had said the sheets might work too if they doubled them up. And bed sheets were one thing they had in excess. RickyJo nodded her approval. She also thought the bed sheets would work, and the more grass they killed this way, the less digging they would have to do later. RickyJo tried to get up off the ground and was grateful when the large man offered her his hand. She turned to thank him when the sirens started going off.

The sound was deafening. And even worse, they were suddenly walkers everywhere. Part of the fence must be open, because more and more of them were coming in, attracted to the noise. The best thing to do would be to run back inside the cell block and lock it. But the walkers would be on them before they got there. Tiny grabbed her arm a pointed for the closest guard tower. Beth nodded at the man and the three of them took off at a run. RickyJo held her stomach, trying to move as quickly as she could when her foot caught in a soft patch of grass and she fell. She caught herself with her hands but before she could get up her muscles seized up in a terrible contraction. Pushing off with her hands and willing her legs to work, she tried to get back up but only managed to fall down again harder, twisting her wrist. The walkers were coming at her and before she could reach for her knife, she felt herself lifted up into the air by strong arms as though she weighed no more than a small child.

Tiny held the woman and ran for the tower, darting inside before Beth slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he set her down on the steps and leaned back against the wall to catch his breath. RickyJo held her stomach, waiting for the terrible cramps to pass. Her wrist felt sore, but it wasn't swelling and she could move it, so it was likely just a sprain. Beth watched the woman closely, she was scared she might be going into labor. Hershel had given everyone emergency instructions on what to do, but Beth did not feel ready to play midwife by herself. RickyJo finally felt her muscles relax and she leaned back, trying to slow her breathing down.

"Thanks," she said to the big man, "I think you just saved my life." He smiled at her.

"Anytime," he said.

"Do you think everyone else made it inside okay?," Beth asked. The big man walked over and looked out the tiny window in the door.

"I don't see them out there so they must have," he said, "maybe we should go upstairs so they know we are in here." RickyJo nodded and used the rail to steady herself as they all headed up the stairs. Tiny walked behind the woman, keeping an eye on her. He was nervous she might fall again.


	17. Chapter 17

Two Years Before the Outbreak

Sitting in Jessica's styling chair, RickyJo wished her cousin would hurry up and get done with her. Jessica had already warned her several times to stop fidgeting or she was going to end up with a lopsided haircut. Even though she felt like she had been sitting there for what seemed like about ten full lifetimes, RickyJo had to admit that her cousin had done an amazing job on her hair. It was no wonder that Jessica was turning a mean profit with the salon she now owned. The remodel she had done on the place had turned out beautiful, with hardwood floors and lots of mint green accents and chrome fixtures. She had put in a coffee bar in the waiting area, and there was a separate lounge where people could relax while their color processed without worrying about anyone seeing them.

Finally, Jessica pulled her cape off and turned her towards the mirror. RickyJo couldn't help but smile. When it came to hair, Jessica knew what she was doing. One of the other girls passed by and complimented her. RickyJo smiled at the girl and then rolled her eyes once the girl walked away. That was the little blonde girl that was always sniffing around Daryl.

"You know," Jessica told her, "If you would start fucking him, he wouldn't be fucking Tiffany." RickyJo rolled her eyes again. They had already had this discussion about eight thousand times and she was not interested in having it again.

"That has always worked out so well for you," she told Jess, raising her eyebrows at her. Jessica had to admit that her cousin had a point. In her experience, fucking a guy didn't exactly inspire them to be faithful. But this was different, anyone could see Daryl was in love with her cousin.

"Daryl is not his brother," Jessica told her.

"I thought you said all men were the same," RickyJo said, crossing her arms. Then she added, "Besides I have a date tonight with Laney." Jessica decided she better keep her mouth shut about that little gold digging tramp. The woman had seemed nice at first, but Jessica had come to dislike her quickly. She was moody and demanding and had a bad temper. RickyJo was the kindest and most caring person she knew and she deserved someone to take care of her, not a whiny little brat she had to constantly work so hard to please. She knew RickyJo had bought the woman a restaurant, which she was still covering most of the monthly bills for. And she was pretty sure her cousin had bought the woman the car she was driving, even though RickyJo wouldn't admit it. RickyJo just had such a giving nature, it made Jessica mad to see her being taken advantage of. At least RickyJo wasn't living with Laney yet, although Jessica suspected the woman was pushing for it.

"You two going to celebrate you getting published in that journal?," Jessica asked.

"Well, I guess," RickyJo answered, "but its also been one year since Laney opened her restaurant, so I didn't want to make it all about me." Jessica shook her head but kept what she had to say for herself. Of course they weren't going out to celebrate something RickyJo had done that was totally crazy and amazing, it had to be all about Laney.

"Can we still have the party for you tomorow night?," Jess asked. RickyJo nodded. Jessica was surprised Laney hadn't thrown a fit over that yet, but she guessed the woman was working and RickyJo had not told her about the party.

"I invited Tiny and a bunch of the guys from his shop," RickyJo said, "Is that okay?" Now Jessica knew for sure Laney wasn't coming.

"Of course its okay, its your damn party, invite anyone you want," Jessica told her. Tiny was good people. Jessica had fucked him a few times, but she was pretty sure RickyJo had never found out about that. He had wanted more, like to have her for his girlfriend but Jessica had not been interested. She wouldn't mind sleeping with him again, but she had no need for a boyfriend. RickyJo stood and hugged her cousin, telling her how much she loved her hair and that she would see her the next day for the party. Then she was off to drive back to the city and meet Laney for dinner.

When she got to the restaurant, Laney was already there, sitting at the bar. She had on a short white sundress that complimented her tanned skin. Her hair was braided back from her face and fell down her back in waves. She was drinking a glass of white wine. Laney loved wine and since she had been dating her, RickyJo had found she was developing a taste for it as well. She pulled up into the stool next to the woman and leaned in to embrace her, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then she ordered a glass for herself of whatever Laney was drinking.

"You're late," Laney told her. RickyJo shrugged. Five minutes really wasn't late as far as she was concerned. Laney looked her over. Her hair was blonder and had been straightened out smooth so that it fell down from her part in a long soft curtain. She was wearing jeans and a strappy tank top that showed off her tattoos. Laney was a little irritated that she had to wait, Usually she liked to make people wait for her. But they had a lot to celebrate tonight and she decided to let it go for now. "Your hair looks great," Laney told her, reaching over to run her fingers through it. RickyJo's hair was so soft, it felt like silk compared to her own coarser strands. She was already thinking about burying her face in it later while they were making love.

"Thanks," RickyJo told her, "you look beautiful." And she meant it. She loved Laney's tan legs and long dark hair, and she looked great in the dress she was wearing. There were other things she would rather be doing with the woman now rather than eating dinner with her. "You know I got a hotel room for tonight," RickyJo reminded her with a suggestive little smile. Laney had been thinking about the same thing.

"Lets go there and order room service instead," Laney whispered to her. RickyJo downed her wine and left some cash on the bar to pay for both their drinks. Laney laughed at her. She was the only person Laney had seen that would gulp down good wine like it was a budweiser. They walked outside holding hands and Laney looked around for RickyJo's jeep. But RickyJo led her over to an old classic car. Laney didn't know enough about cars to know what it was but it looked like something James Bond would drive. It must be one of RickyJo's grandfather's old cars.

"Its a 1964 Aston Martin DB5," RickyJo told her. Seeing that didn't mean much to the woman, she added, "Its the car James Bond drives in the movie Goldfinger." Laney smiled. She had been right about the James Bond thing.

"Is that the movie with Pussy Galore?," Laney asked.

"Oh yeah," RickyJo told her, "you know in the books she was a lesbian until she met James bond." Laney smiled. RickyJo read the book to every movie she had ever seen.

"Good thing I don't see him around here anywhere," Laney told the woman. Then she leaned over and put her hand on RickyJo's thigh, kissing her behind the ear.

"Better quit," RickyJo told her, "if I grind this shifter my Poppa will roll over in his damn grave."

The girls went right up to the room, since RickyJo had already checked in when she rented it out earlier. It was full of flowers and had sliding glass doors that led to a private hot tub. Laney got on the phone with room service and ordered every sexy thing she could find on the menu while RickyJo laughed about it. The champagne and strawberries she could understand, but what people found sexy about oysters, she had no idea. Laney had the funny idea to get in their lingerie before the room service guy came so they hurried up and got changed.

RickyJo had never even owned sexy undergarments before she met Laney, but Laney had taken her shopping for some and she had found that she enjoyed wearing the soft silky garments. And even more, she liked seeing Laney wear them. Now she had half a dresser crammed full of the stuff at home. Sometimes she even slept in them when she was alone, but learned quick to put a robe over it when she got up in the morning to make coffee. She had come out half asleep and walked straight into Merle, who she had not even known was sleeping over on her couch. He had been more than happy to offer his opinion on her outfit, complete with a smack on the ass. _Should stay here more often if you're gone be walkin around in shit like that._ She had been wearing that silky black one she liked that time. But Laney's favorite color on her was red, so tonight she had a red one on. This one was lace over the chest, and tied like a halter, leaving her back bare. The skirt part was sheer to reveal the matching red lace panties she had on underneath. She would rather put her hair up and out of the way, but Laney liked it down so she left it.

Laney had gone in the bathroom to change, and came out wearing red as well. This made both of them laugh. They looked like they were ready for porn. Laney's was a retro sixties outfit, with a push up bra and high waisted panties with little ruffles on the back. The girl goofed around, posing and taking pictures of each other with their phones. RickyJo got one of them together and sent it to Jessica.

"Its packback for the one she sent to me of some guy's giant veiny boner," she explained to Laney. RickyJo had just about barfed in her cornflakes over that one. Fucking gross is what that was. Laney was laughing. Jessica was a whore, but at least she was a funny whore.

"Do you still have it?," Laney asked.

"What that nasty dick pic?," RickyJo answered, "hell no I deleted that disgusting thing."

"Who's was it?," Laney asked.

"Who the hell knows," RickyJo told her, making her laugh, "I'm guessing a random European since he wasn't circumcised." Now Laney was really laughing. Penis of all forms was just disgusting but she wouldn't mind taking a look anyway. She had never seen an all natural one before. The knock on the door alerted them both. The food and drinks Laney had ordered must be here. Laney pranced over in her outfit and swung the door open. Of course it had to be a very awkward looking young man that was bringing it. He stared at Laney, then remembered himself and pushed the cart in. When he saw RickyJo was in there too, his eyes about bugged out of his head. Not only was she hot, but she was covered in tattoos and most of the way naked. He started putting the stuff from the cart onto the table, alomst dropping some of it. Laney went over to help him before he spilled the crap everywhere. RickyJo had told her to charge the order to the room but she got some cash out of her purse to tip the kid.

He got done getting the things off the cart and then just stood there starring at Laney. RickyJo walked over and handed him his tip and told him thank you. He backed the cart out of the room and Laney shut the door behind him. She had really gotten a kick out of that. Then she walked over and popped the bottle of champagne, pouring them each a glass. They nibbled on the food Laney had ordered and then refilled their glasses and took them over to the bed. There they nibbled on each other, using their fingers to dribble the wine onto the sensitive parts of their bodies and then licking it off. They made love to each other gently, the rough stuff they would save for later in the hot tub.

They lay together on the bed, Laney had spread RickyJo's long hair out across the pillow and was laying on it, rubbing her face into it. RickyJo had the longest, softest hair of any girl she had ever been with. Aside for her tits, it was unquestionably her best feature. Laney could hear a weird buzzing noise that kept coming from over by the chair where RickyJo had left her clothes.

"I think somebody is blowing up your phone," she told her. RickyJo thought about ignoring it, but then figured she better check in case something was really wrong. Laney leaned up off her hair so the woman could get up. RickyJo opened the second bottle they had ordered and poured herself a glass then grabbed her phone, which was buzzing again. It was Daryl, and he started screaming the minute she picked up and said hello.

"What the fucking hell you think you are doing sending my brother naked ass pictures of yourself?"

"What do you mean, I didn't send him anything."

"Tha fuck ya didn't, I seen the shit."

"Oh hell, is it me and Laney in red outfits?"

"Yes."

"That was supposed to go to Jessica. It was a joke after she sent me that nasty picture last week."

"Well you sent it to the wrong goddamn phone."

"Ooops. So what is the big deal then." RickyJo was a little embarrassed she had sent the picture to Merle, but in the end it was just her and Laney in nighties, not a penthouse centerfold.

"The deal is he was in the fucking shitter and Debbie picked up his phone and saw the shit. Then she went batshit crazy and they started fighting. The neighbors called the cops and now Merle is in the damn slammer."

"He's back with Druggie Debbie? I thought they broke up." Jessica was not going to like this.

"Apparently they got back together. Again. Told him to stay away from that crazy bitch."

"Well just go get him out. Theres money under my bed." She could hear Daryl grumbling obscenities on the other line and rummaging around.

"He is going to have to stay here, he can't go back over to Debbie's"

"Thats fine." RickyJo knew Daryl hated, just absolutely hated Merle staying with them. But RickyJo didn't mind him. He did his own dishes, unlike a certain other person, and it always made her feel safe having him around. Like having a big dog, but one that didn't shed or shit on the carpets. "He can stay in the guest room."

"His shit is still over at Debbie's house. He is going to want to go get it."

"Tell him me and Jess will go get it in the morning."

"Alright. Aahaa! Found the money. You got too much shit under your bed. And there is a lot of fucking money in here. How many times I gotta tell you not to keep this much cash in the house."

"Goodnight Daryl." She hung up and slugged down the rest of her glass of wine, then went to the table for a refill. When she looked over, she could tell Laney was unhappy. Laney didn't care much for Daryl and liked his brother even less. All the crude lesbian jokes might have had a little something to do with that. Laney knew there was nothing sexual going on between RickyJo and Daryl but she felt he was a obstacle in their relationship. They would never be able to move in together and have a real life while RickyJo was living with him. He was supposed to be moving out, not bringing more of his relatives and moving them in. Laney got up and started getting dressed.

"Come on Laney," RickyJo said, "don't be like that." Laney said nothing and just continued yanking on her clothes. RickyJo sat down and crossed her arms over her naked breasts. If the woman wanted to leave, she wasn't going to beg her to stay. When Laney got into one of her moods, there was no reasoning with her anyway. Now she was stuffing her things back in her overnight bag before she stormed out of the room, slamming the door closed behind her. RickyJo got up and put on a fluffy robe from the bathroom. She thought about calling Laney's cell and apologizing, but she really felt like she hadn't done anything wrong. And she was tired of dealing with Laney's little shit fits. Maybe this time she would wait a few days and make Laney call her, like Jessica was always telling her to do. She picked up her phone and threw it down again. Then she had an idea. She picked up her phone and dialed Daryl back.

"What now?" Nice way to answer your phone, she thought.

"Laney just stormed out and left."

"Thats because she is a little bitch. Whats she so pissed about."

"Merle staying with us I think."

"What does she care he ain't stayin at her fucking place."

"Who knows. Anyway I paid for this really nice room with a hot tub and everything. I don't want to just leave, you want to come and hang out?"

"Can I order whatever I want from room service?"

"Yes." RickyJo laughed.

"Do they have pizza?"

"I don't know you asshole. Are you coming or not?"

"What should I do with Merle?"

"Drop his ass back off at the apartment first."

"If I leave him there alone he is going to go back over to Debbie's house." RickyJo sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew he was right.

"Are you still at the apartment?"

"Yes."

"Get in the cabinet and take all the car keys." Now she could hear Daryl laughing. It was a good idea. Merle's ass wasn't going no where without no car. "Which hotel are you at?"

"The Four Seasons. Call me when you get here I will come down and meet you in the lobby."

"Alright, see you in about an hour."

"See you then."

RickyJo clicked off and then figured she better get her naked ass dressed. She dug through her bag, hoping for sweatpants but all she brought were her bikini and sex clothes. And a sundress to wear home tomorrow. She sighed and pulled the jeans and tank back on that she had been wearing earlier. She watched some tv until he called back, which was about an hour later. Then she shoved on her sandals and grabbed the room key, heading down to the lobby. She had to wait down there a minute and when she saw Daryl come in she was surprised. He was dressed in khaki pants and a button down shirt, tucked into his pants. She knew he wasn't dressed up for her benefit and wondered if she was keeping him from other plans. RickyJo wrapped her arms around the man hugging him tight. He smelled good too.

Attached to the lobby there was a small convenience type store, where RickyJo took Daryl so he could buy some beer before they went upstairs to the room. She still had most of a bottle of wine, but she knew he didn't want that. Then they went up and decided to soak a while in the big tub and get drunk. Daryl checked the place out a little first. RickyJo had no been messing around, this place was totally swank. To bad she was wasting all this on that little bitch Laney who probably thought it wasn't nice enough. Nothing was ever good enough for her.

RickyJo was in the bathroom putting her suit on, Daryl had not thought to bring one, so he just figured fuck it and got in naked. It was just RickyJo around anyway and over the years she had seen about everything there was to see. She came out in the smallest string bikini he had ever seen. He could see all her tattoos now, even the private ones. It had been awhile since he had seen her when she wasn't fully dressed. She had been on some new exercise kick, some kind of yoga this time, and the results spoke for themselves. When they had first met she had been all thin and wiry with full breasts that looked out of place on her body. Now she was fuller in the hips and legs, but in a good way. She was still thin, but her body looked softer and more womanly. Her tattoo guy had finally finished that big lizard her had put on her left hip and thigh and even though Daryl had thought she was crazy getting that thing, he had to admit it had turned out totally bad ass. She also had two nautical stars, one on each hip, that he had not seen before.

RickyJo set her wine down and lowered herself slowly down into the hot water. She was actually feeling a little relieved that Laney was gone. It was hard to really relax with her around. Now she was starting to wonder again what Daryl had been dressed up for. She thought about asking him, but if he had been dressed up for a date she didn't really want to know about it. Instead she just smiled at him and then slid down further into the water, leaning her head back and resting it on the edge of the tub. She heard the little flick of a lighter and then the smell of smoke. Laney did not approve of pot smoking and RickyJo had been trying to quit.

Drying one of her hands on the towel behind her, RickyJo slid over by Daryl so he could hand her the joint. She took a long drag, holding it in for a few seconds before she blew it out and coughed a little. He took it back and she went for a drink of wine. Then they passed it back and forth until it was about half gone. Daryl put it out, saving the rest for the morning. RickyJo could feel all the muscles in her body slowing relaxing one at a time. It was like she had a balloon full of tension inside her and someone let the air out. Daryl was leaning back in the corner seat of the tub. He watched RickyJo wiggle around trying to get comfortable. Reaching through the water, he caught her by the wrist and pulled her over to him. She felt like she was floating. He moved his legs apart and sat her between them so she could lean back against his chest. Then he put his hands on her shoulders and started rubbing her neck and back.

"That feels so good," she said softly, "If I fall asleep don't let me drown, okay."

"If you are tired, lets go lay down," he suggested.

"Will you still rub my back in there," she asked in her soft sleepy little voice. Lots of people got louder when they got high or drunk, but she just got sweeter. He got himself out of the tub, and gave RickyJo an arm up. If she noticed that he was naked, she didn't say anything. She just wrapped up in her towel and grabbed her glass of wine, tipping it up to drink the last of it. They went back inside, the air condiditoned room feeling freezing after the warmth of the tub. RickyJo was poking around in her things looking for something to sleep in. Daryl dried off and pulled his boxers and the tank he had been wearing under his shirt back on. He looked over to see RickyJo staring into her bag laughing.

"Whats so funny," he asked her. She was high so it might be anything.

"I was coming here with Laney," she said, holding up a black silk nightie, "so this is what I brought to sleep in." Daryl started laughing, now that was funny.

"Put it on," he said, "I will see if I have any ones." She picked up a pillow and threw it at him then headed for the bathroom to change. "Make you sure you take another picture for my brother," he called after her. She leaned back out and held up her middle finger at him. He was having a good laugh but when she came back out he about choked on his beer. She had her hair hanging over her shoulder in a long braid and she was wearing a robe, but it was hanging open, revealing the outfit she had been holding in the air a minute before. It was soft and black and hung down low in front to reveal a generous portion of cleavage. Even though it covered more than the bathing suit she had just had on, it was much sexier. Maybe it was how soft and thin the fabric looked. RickyJo noticed Daryl was looking at her with his mouth wide open like a fish. She giggled and tossed part of the robe behind her, sticking her hip out.

"What do you think?," she asked.

"I think you ought to lose the robe," he told her. She laughed and pulled it closed, tying the belt. Then she went over to start poking through the food on the table. Daryl got up and she felt him come up behind her, putting his arms around her. She turned and hugged him back. He tilted her chin up so he could get his mouth on hers and she could feel him pulling her robe open and reaching in to wrap and arm arround her waist. RickyJo braced her hands on his chest, pushing him back and away from her. He grabbed her waist tighter, crushing her to his chest.

"I just want to kiss you," he told her softly into her ear. There was a long pause, and then he felt her arms go up around his neck.

"Okay," she said. His hands moved up her back, then her took her face in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips. Daryl waited, giving her a chance to respond. This was hardly the first time they had fooled around together and he knew if he went at her as hard as he wanted to she would freak out and make him stop. She twined her hands up in his hair, kissing his mouth with soft tiny little pecks. He wanted to grab her hair and shove his tounge down her throat. Then push her down on the bed, rip her clothes off and have her. The more he thought about it, he knew the more they kissed the closer he was going to losing his self control. He caught the woman by the hips and moved back and away from her.

"I thought you wanted to kiss," she said quietly. He could tell it wasn't a complaint, she just wanted to make sure he was alright.

"Decided I want pizza instead," he said. She smiled and tossed him the room service menu. He sat down to read it and RickyJo came in behind him and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek. She hesitated before she spoke quietly into his ear.

"If I am ever ready for more than a kiss," she said, "you will be the first to know."


	18. Chapter 18

2 Years Before the Outbreak

Daryl woke up to the smell of coffee. RickyJo crawled across the bed and plopped a little kiss on his forehead. She was glad he was finally awake. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to take the Aston back home to the garage, pick up her cousin, and get the bikes out. She smelled like shampoo and oranges and Daryl guessed she had already been up for some time. He was right, she had been down to the pool, swimming laps to burn off her hangover and then come back to the room for a shower and ordered breakfast. RickyJo had thought about waking him earlier, but he had looked so peaceful she had decided to let him sleep.

Sipping her coffee, RickyJo poked around for her phone and checked the notifications. There were a few texts and calls from Laney. She cleared the notifications without reading the texts since she knew they would upset her and she didn't want the whole day ruined with drama. Tonight was the party Jessica was throwing her for getting her research published in the Journal of Food Science. While it embarrassed her a little to be the center of attention she was proud of what she and her research assistants had accomplished. All three of her assistants were girls she had been mentoring since they were undergraduate students and now each one of them had recieved multiple job offers from all over the country. The list of students applying to work for her had tripled over the last year and she had a feeling she was going to have a lot of interviews to do before the start of the next school year.

Daryl came out of the bathroom and sat down at the table across from RickyJo. She was drinking her coffee and poking at the fruit and oatmeal she had ordered for herself, puffing on the rest of the joint they had smoked the night before. She handed it over to Daryl, he took a hit and pulled the cover off the food she had ordered for him. He had to admit she knew him well. Holding it out, he offered her a piece of his bacon. She smiled at him and shook her head. Aside from occasionally indulging in seafood, Laney was a vegan and had been pressing RickyJo to give up red meat. RickyJo looked down at her fruit and changed her mind, holding her hand out for the small crispy piece of pork. Daryl handed it to her and clapped his hands, making her laugh. She chewed away, picking up her phone again and typing out a quick text.

"Who you texting?," Daryl asked. He hoped it wasn't Laney.

"Merle," she said, "goin to see if he wants to drive out to Nana's with us today to get Jess." Daryl nodded. "Its so nice out I thought we could pick up the bikes and ride back." He nodded again, that sounded good to him. They both finished their breakfast and their smoke and headed down to the lobby so RickyJo could check out. Then they went back to the apartment to drop off Daryl's bike and pick up his brother.

RickyJo had been looking foward to seeing her neices. She was surprised when Jessica explained to her that the girls were off for a visit with their father for the weekend. RickyJo hoped that didn't mean Jess was sleeping around with the man again. He was married now, and had a new baby with his wife. Leaving the subject for the time being, Jess packed up a small bag and the girls headed out to the big garage to get their bikes. Along with the cars he collected, RickyJo's grandfather had quite a few classic bikes, plus there were some newer ones that RickyJo had bought. She found the old ones too heavy for her, and grabbed the keys for her BMW. Daryl rolled his eyes at her. The bike had a custom hot pink paint job, and Jessica had a matching one in neon orange. Whenever they took them out, people always stared. Merle was poking around at the bikes. He had driven most of them before.

"Why do all the new bikes have to be painted up all fucking girly," he complained loudly.

"Because I bought them for me, not your dumbass," RickyJo reminded him. Then she added, "You can always ride on the back of mine." This brought some laughter from Jessica and Daryl. Merle just gave her the evil eye and turned back to the bikes. He really really wanted to take out the new Ducati Streetfighter she had but the fucking thing was purple. And not a dark, almost could be black or navy color, but bright ass purple and sparkly. What a horrible thing to do to a bike.

"You know we got a custom purple helmet to match that bike," Jessica informed him. Daryl laughed. He already knew which one he was riding. He liked the old 1970's Harleys they had. They were what he always wanted to drive. The only thing that could make those bikes better better is if RickyJo would leave her bike there and ride on the back with him. Daryl could see she already had her beamer out, gassing it up with the small pump they had next to the garage, so that clearly wasn't going to happen. RickyJo leaned back so she could see into the door of the garage. She was thinking about how long she was going to wait before she told Merle that she had bought that Triumph Rocket III Roadster that he had showed her online. And she had not had it painted yet, so it was still black. It actually looked so good black she was thinking about leaving it that way.

"Hey Merle," she called to the man, "you remember that Roadster you were showing me last week?" He looked over at her with sudden keen interest.

"Yeah, I remember," he said. He saw RickyJo was looking at him with one of her biggest, prettiest smiles. She was really enjoying whatever she was about to tell him.

"Its up in the front garage," she said, "they delivered it yesterday." Merle looked at her. It was about a fifty fifty chance that she really bought the bike, or that she might just be giving him shit. He raised his eyebrows and looked at her, trying to read her expression. Once he was satisfied that she wasn't pulling his chain he ran out and pulled her up into a big hug, kissing her on the cheek and neck, making her laugh. "You can borrow it a while," she told him. Daryl watched as the two of them took off running up to the front garage, trying to race each other. He knew there was nothing going on between them, but finding out they had been talking about buying some bike that neither of them had bothered to mention to him made him uneasy. He wondered how much time they had been spending together when he wasn't around. Daryl always felt awkward visiting RickyJo at the university where she worked but he knew his brother loved going up there. He would drive up there and eat lunch with her as often as she would let him. Its like high school only all the girls are legal, Merle had told him with a laugh. Daryl also knew if she was in the right mood she would let Merle lie and tell the girls there he was her brother. It seemed for some reason unknown to Daryl, that particular lie was a real panty dropper.

Merle and RickyJo came riding back from the front garage a few minutes later with her on the back of the bike. They flew past Daryl and Jess, heading all the way down the driveway towards the back of the property. A few minutes later they reappeared, this time stopping so RickyJo could get off and get her own bike. Merle walked the bike over to the pump and filled up the tank. The girls were talking about stopping for lunch somewhere on the way back. Without consulting the guys, they decided on some Mexican place they liked and Daryl hated. The food was good, but the menu was in spanish and thats all anyone who worked there spoke. Because of the time she had spent abroad, RickyJo was almost fluent in spanish. And though he often liked to pretend he didn't speak any spanish, choosing instead to yell at people to 'speak fucking english', Daryl knew his brother understood and could speak it fairly well from his time in the service. Jess knew enough to get by, which left Daryl out as the only person that couldn't understand shit of what anyone in the damn place was saying. He decided to shrug it off. RickyJo would order for him and he would be fine.

With everyone gassed up and ready to go, they headed out, waving to the girls' grandmother as they drove by the main house. RickyJo had been trying to talk her Nana into coming into the city for her party, but the woman would have none of it. Jessica's girls were gone and she was looking forward to having a quiet evening to herself. Plus she hated going into Atlanta and avoided it whenever possible. She had to drive in to the big hospital there for her cancer treatment years back, and it had soured her on the drive there and the place itself. Jess climbed off and shut the main gate behind them, locking it. Then they headed down the long country road that would eventually take them to the highway.

It was a two hour drive back to Atlanta. They stopped about half an hour from the city for lunch. The man working there recognized the girls and greeted them warmly. There were not many tall blonde women that spoke fluent spanish with a portuguese accent. And the girl that sometimes came with the tall blonde had the reddest hair the man had ever seen. He chatted a little with the women as he showed the group to a table and then quickly brought out chips and the beers RickyJo had ordered for everyone.

"No margarita?," Jess asked RickyJo.

"Got to pace myself for the party tonight," she said, "No tequila before four o'clock." Jessica laughed.

"You know I am making pink margaritas tonight," Jess reminded her. RickyJo was torn between being really excited and really scared. Jess would never tell her exactly what she put in the mix, but it was by far the best mixed drink RickyJo had ever had. The last time they had been drinking them she had gotten blackout drunk and woke up in her bedroom floor with Daryl's feet in her face. Tonight the students that had helped her with the research project were coming and the two that lived locally were bringing their parents, so she was going to need to keep it under control. At least until they left. Daryl just started laughing. RickyJo might have forgotten what happened the last time she had gotten tequila drunk but he remembered it just fine.

They ordered and the girls took off to go do whatever girls do in the bathroom together. It seemed like they had been gone quite a while when Daryl heard a lot of loud noise and music coming from the kitchen of the restaurant. He looked at Merle and they both got up and headed to see what was going on. When he rounded the corner, Daryl couldn't help but to just start laughing. Both the girls were in the kitchen, salsa dancing with what looked like a dishwasher and a cook. Some other people who worked there were clapping along and cheering them on. The man that had showed them to the table noticed the brothers standing in the doorway of the kitchen and turned the music back down. Jessica kissed the man that she had been dancing with on the cheek and they all headed back to the table, RickyJo turned back to give the men in the kitchen a wave. As they walked back to sit down, Daryl wrapped his arm around RickyJo's waist and gave her a quick kiss. Jessica noticed but didn't say anything.

The food came and they ate a while in silence. Then RickyJo remembered what had happened the night before. She wasn't sure if Jessica had already talked to Merle about what was going on.

"You know we have to go over to Debbie's house today and get Merle's shit," RickyJo told her cousin. Jessica nodded. She already knew. This made RickyJo happy, since she knew it meant they had been talking. She had always thought if the two of them would just stop sleeping around on each other, they would make a great couple.

"I am bringing my gun," Jessica announced. Merle laughed at her. "Whatever," Jessica told him, "that bitch is fucking crazy." No one was going to argue with that. They didn't call her Druggie Debbie for no reason. RickyJo turned her attention to Merle.

"No more with that girl," she told him, "you need to leave her alone." Normally anyone trying to tell Merle what to do would get a fist to the face but he just nodded. He knew RickyJo's comment came from a place of concern for him.

"Going to get a no contact order anyway," Merle said.

"Good," Jessica told him.

Jessica pounded on the door of the dingy little trailer. It was on the outskirts of the city and the place was just awful. It was the kind of trailer park where they had to set traps for all the stray cats because there were so many. Some broken funiture littered the front yard and RickyJo wondered if it had been from the fight the night before or if it had just broken and been tossed outside instead of in the garbage. And speaking of garbage, there were a few ripe bags sitting on the ground next to the small wooden steps. There were flies all over the bags and the stink made RickyJo wish she didn't need to breathe to live. Jessica pounded on the door now, yelling for the woman to open up. RickyJo thought to suggest that the woman might not be home but her car was in the driveway. Finally the door opened a crack.

"He ain't here is he," the woman asked from inside the house.

"No," Jessica told her, "we just came for his crap." The woman opened the door wider. Despite being early afternoon, Debbie had clearly just gotten up out of bed. Her hair was disheveled. Even if it had been brushed she was working on a good three inches of brown roots and frizzy blonde ends. The woman was so skinny RickyJo guessed if she turned around and lifted up her shirt they would be able to count every single one of her ribs. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a ripped tank top. There were bruises on her arms and she had a pretty good black eye forming on the left side.

"Merle do that?," RickyJo asked the woman.

"Yeah," she said, "and he knocked out ma damn tooth too."

"Was that before or after you yanked his dick as hard as you could and hit him in the head with a glass candle?," Jessica asked her. Unlike RickyJo, she had absolutely no sympathy for the woman. In all the time she had known him, Merle had never laid a hand on her. And she knew Debbie was crazy, since the woman had tried to stab her in the face once with a plastic fork. If she had gotten smacked, then she had deserved it. RickyJo didn't say anything else, she just got out the garbage bags they had brought and started putting in the things she could tell were Merle's. She handed a bag to Debbie and told the woman to go get whatever was his out of the bedroom and bathroom. The place was so disgusting, RickyJo would rather just throw this mess away and tell him to go buy new. Merle was lucky she didn't see any roaches or she would have been out of here before she came in. He was so clean when he stayed with her, she couldn't believe he had been okay with sleeping in this trash dump. Then again, maybe things seem cleaner when you are high on crack.

Jessica didn't think Debbie would try anything with both her and RickyJo around, but she kept a close eye on the woman anyway. RickyJo kicked at an old pizza box that looked like it had still had a few pieces of pizza inside. Then she tried to pick up the clothes that were under it without touching them. Jessica was looking around for Merle's leather riding jacket. It was the only thing he had asked for specifically so she wanted to get it and get the hell out of there before she got fork stabbed. Luckily Debbie came out with one half full bag, holding the jacket. RickyJo took it and handed the items to Jessica, giving her a look that said she thought it was time to get the hell out of there. Then she touched Debbie's arm lightly and walked her back down the hall. She got out her wallet from the back pocket of her jeans. Then she pulled out several hundred dollar bills and pressed them into the woman's hand.

"Go get your tooth fixed," she told the woman. Debbie just nodded with a blank look on her face. RickyJo added, "the next time Merle calls you, why don't you do yourself a favor and not answer." Debbie nodded again and RickyJo headed back down the hall and followed Jessica outside.

"Why the hell did you give her money?," Jessica asked. She already knew. Debbie reminded RickyJo of her own mother, who had been horribly addicted to drugs. RickyJo didn't answer, she just helped Jessica shove the bags into the trunk and then go into the driver's seat.

"You know she is going to spend that money on drugs," Jessica said. RickyJo shrugged.

"Then she is going to spend it on drugs," RickyJo said, "but her ugly missing tooth will be her own fault." Jessica could tell RickyJo was upset over Debbie's condition. RickyJo knew the woman had started the fight, but that didn't make it right for Merle to slap the teeth out of her mouth. And it brought back some memories from her childhood that she would rather not think about. A man on top of her mother, slapping her and making blood fly out of her mouth and splash across RickyJo's fuzzy footie pajamas where she was hiding next to the couch. Then the man ripped her mother's clothes off and done things to her that made her scream and cry. They were the same images that came into her mind anytime she had gotten close to having anything sexual happen between her and Daryl, making her seize up into a panic.

Jessica reached over and squeezed her cousin's hand. She could always tell when RickyJo was having a bad flashback. Over the years they had gotten fewer and farther between, but sometimes she still had them. Jess had lost her parents when she was young, but they had died in a car accident, not by suicide. And before that, they had been wonderful and loving parents. She had memories of her father pushing her on a swing, his red hair so bright out in the sun that it looked like it was on fire, not memories of terrible men doing appalling things to her and her mother. Many times over the years she had tried to covince RickyJo to see a counselor, but she always refused.

RickyJo pulled herself together and backed the jeep out of the short driveway, heading back to her apartment. On the way, her phone started buzzing. She pulled it out and checked it, thinking maybe some of the chairs and tables they were renting for the party were being delivered. It was Laney. RickyJo sent her straight to voicemail, cringing a little at how mad she knew it would make the woman.

"Shes not coming to the party tonight, is she?," Jessica asked. RickyJo shook her head. She had never even told Laney they were having a party. RickyJo had been planning to say something about it the night before when they were at the hotel, but Laney had stormed out in a huff before she had a chance. "How did the hotel thing go last night?," Jessica asked. Merle had already told her the whole story on the phone last night, but Jessica wanted to hear what happened from RickyJo.

"She got mad when I was talking to Daryl on the phone and left," RickyJo said.

"She was mad because you were talking to Daryl?," Jessica asked. Laney was very possesive over her cousin's time. Jessica knew the woman got mad at RickyJo when she would come out to spend the weekend at the farm with her and Nana and the girls.

"I think she was mad because she heard me say Merle was coming to stay at the apartment," RickyJo said.

"Has she been on you again about making Daryl move out?," Jessica asked. RickyJo nodded. Jessica worried about RickyJo's safety, living in the busy part of the city. It made Jessica and her grandmother feel safer to know she had Daryl staying with her. Laney had some fucking nerve. RickyJo glanced over at her cousin, she could tell Jessica was getting angry.

"Daryl is not going anywhere," RickyJo assured her, "I like living with him and if Laney wants to break up with me because of it, that's the choice she can make." Jessica smiled. She was glad to see that RickyJo was finally sticking up for herself when it came to Laney. It was always strange to her that RickyJo could face down Merle at his worst but she would let that little bitch push her around. Jessica often wondered just how good of a lay Laney was. What she didn't understand was how emotional manipulative the woman was. When she didn't get her way, she would make RickyJo feel terrible for hurting her feelings. Laney figured out early on that tears were the way with RickyJo. She just could not stand to feel like she caused someone else pain and would usually give in to anything Laney wanted.

"You know Laney is not the only one with feelings," Jessica said gently, "when was the last time she was worried about hurting your feelings." RickyJo nodded. She knew Jessica was right, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. Before she had found Laney, she had been so lonely. It was nice to feel wanted and needed. And she had to admit she liked the sex too. Going back to not having any would really suck.

"Alright," RickyJo said, "enough serious. Lets get in party mode." Jessica laughed and gave a little woohoo, throwing her arms in the air. Then she leaned across the seat and gave her cousin the best hug she could without running them off the road,

"I love you," Jess told her "and I am so proud of you for the sciene journal thing, even if I didn't understand a word of it." RickyJo hugged her back.

"I love you too."


	19. Chapter 19

Present Day

The cramps were coming faster and closer together now, and she lay back, willing them to stop. Lori had died earlier that day when she had been trying to give birth to her daughter and RickyJo was scared. Hershel was concerned. The more she fought it, the worse the labor would be for her. Daryl had left with Maggie to look for formula for Lori's baby and he hoped the man would be back soon. RickyJo needed his support. Oscar had explained to him what had happened. That prisoner that had run off had come back angry and cut the fence. Then he had turned on the alarms to draw the walkers in on them. Tdog and Carol were still missing and Lori was dead.

Shane had been so upset about Lori he had turned on Rick and tried to kill him. Thank god that giant black man everyone called Tiny had stepped in and yanked them apart. Now both men were locked in separate cells until they could be trusted not to fight. Hershel sat on the bed, holding RickyJo's hand, Beth, Sammie and Carl stood in the doorway, looking like they wanted to help but weren't sure what to do. Beth was holding Lori's new baby, giving her a little sugar water to try and hold her over until the formula got there. Shane was leaning against the wall in his cell, trying to see what was going on. He could hear RickyJo moaning.

"Hey Carl," he called to the boy, "How is it going in there?" Carl looked like he was going to walk over, but Hershel came out instead. He looked distressed. This scared Shane. RickyJo was his friend. He trusted her and wanted her to be alright. And he knew they needed her to feed his daughter now that Lori was dead. Without a mother to feed them, neither baby stood a very good chance. Hershel got close to the bars and spoke quietly to Shane.

"RickyJo is progressing normally," he said, "but she is so scared she is tensing up and making things worse for herself. Daryl might not make it back in time. She could use your support." Hershel had a way of saying things without actually saying them. Shane understood Hershel was offering to let him out if he agreed not to start anymore trouble with Rick.

"I'm okay now," Shane said "let me out and I will see if I can help her." Hershel nodded his approval and unlocked the cell. Shane walked over and leaned down to kiss his new baby. He hadn't even got a chance to hold her yet. Beth smiled at him and then turned back to RickyJo with a look of concern. Shane could see she was breathing hard, gripping the metal supports on the bed. It looked like she was having a panic attack. Now he understood what Hershel had meant. She was going to make herself faint, acting like this. Shane moved in and took her hands, sitting her up and moving in to sit behind her and let her lean back against his chest. He spoke slowly and evenly to her.

"You are going to be just fine RickyJo," he started, brushing the hair back out of her face. He wished more than anything he could have been there to help Lori. He had not been able to help her, but he was here now and he could help RickyJo. She leaned back, gripping his knees with her hands. He took them and loosened her grip, taking her hands in his and rubbing them. "Just breathe, everything is going to be fine. We are all here and we wont let anything happen to you." He could feel her slowly start to relax and slow her breathing. Beth could see she still looked like she was in pain, but at least she wasn't thrashing around going nuts anymore. Hershel came in.

"There you go honey," he told her, "just relax and let your body do the work." She nodded, taking slow deep breaths as she felt another strong contraction coming on. Hershel turned and told Beth to give the baby to Carl. He wanted her and Sammie to come in and help RickyJo get her pants off so he could check and see how far along she was. Beth ran quickly and got a sheet, so she could lay it over the woman and give her a little more privacy. RickyJo thanked her gratefully. Hershel waited until the contraction was over and then slid his fingers gently inside her to see how far dilated she was.

"It won't be long now," he said, " can feel the baby's head." This made RickyJo smile until another contraction seized her up into pain again. "Try and breath through them as long as you can," Hershel said, "the more work you let the contractions do, the less you work you will have to do pushing." Sammie sat down on the bed next to her friend.

"Think about how nice it will be to finally hold your baby," she suggested. The way RickyJo smiled through the pain let the girl know she had said the right thing. Hershel smiled at her as well. The young girl was not only kind, she had a gift for knowing what people needed to hear. Hershel reminded RickyJo to let them know when she was feeling like she needed to push. They had some vasoline and he was going to smear it around her vaginal aread to try and keep her from tearing. It worked on goats so he figured it was worth a shot. He left Beth to keep and eye on the woman and went to get her some water.

Daryl and Maggie pulled back in with the things they had found at the daycare center. It wasn't much, but something was better than nothing. Hershel met them outside. Daryl pulled the can of formula out of his bag and held it up for Hershel to see.

"I don't think we are going to need that after all," Hershel told him. Daryl's first thought was that the baby had already died. But Hershel was smiling. Why would he be smiling if the baby had died. "Go on in and see for yourself," Hershel suggested. Daryl didn't need to be told twice. He bolted inside, looking around for RickyJo. Several people were crowded around the door to the cell where he and RickyJo usually slept. They moved out of his way and let him in.

RickyJo was dressed in one of the baggy prison jumpsuits. She was leaning back on a folded mattress and had pillows and folded sheets piled around her. The girls had tried to make her as comfortable as possible. In her arms she held not one, but two small babies, one to each of her breasts. One of them was obviously Lori's baby and the other one had a full head of the reddest hair Daryl had ever seen. RickyJo looked up and saw Daryl, giving him a smile.

"Sorry," she said, "I wanted to wait for you to get back but he just slithered right out." A few people laughed at this, but Daryl just stood there staring at her with his mouth open. It took his mind a few seconds to process what his eyes were seeing. Then he rushed in, sitting down carefully on the bed next to her.

"You had the baby?," he asked. She nodded and smiled, looking down at the tiny baby and stroking his head gently with her thumb. Her face was so soft and loving as she stared down at her new son. Daryl had never seen her look at anyone like that. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. Motherhood suited her. "Are you alright?," he asked. Hershel answered him from the doorway, letting him know everything had gone well and she was going to be just fine.

"Can I hold him?," Daryl asked.

"Of course you can," RickyJo softly replied, "when he is done eating you can hold him all you want." Daryl leaned in, trying to get a better look at the new arrival. His hair was red and curly, and his eyes were closed. One small hand was resting on his mother's breast as he suckled away, his tiny jaw moving in a rhythmic motion.

"Does that hurt?," Daryl asked her. She shook her head. It felt a little strange at first, but it didn't hurt. She could feel that Lori's baby was done. She was sleeping now with a tiny milky drool dribble coming out the side of her mouth. RickyJo asked Beth to come and get her, but Shane quickly volunteered. Daryl moved and Shane leaned in awkwardly, trying to get a good grip on the baby without waking her or coping a feel on RickyJo's breasts. When he lifted her away RickyJo closed that side of her jumpsuit to cover herself. As Shane walked away with his new baby, people took it as a sign to give the couple some privacy and they left for their own cells or outside. Daryl sat back down, shifting his weight around and waiting for the baby to get done eating.

"He sure does take his sweet ass time, doesn't he?," Daryl said. RickyJo flashed him a flirty little half smile.

"Wouldn't you?," she asked. Daryl laughed, he had to admit, she had a point. She had no idea how long babies took to eat, so far it seemed like that was all they did. Using her knuckle, she pressed in on the side of the baby's mouth very gently to break the suction. Then she lifted him up and handed him over to Daryl. He held the baby comfortably for a new father, but then again they had all been practicing on Jessica's daughters for years. The baby was still moving his mouth like he was feeding, making quiet little smacking noises. He had hands and feet and even tiny little fingernails. Daryl put his finger in the baby's hand and was surprised when the little guy gripped it tightly.

"Look at that red hair," Daryl said.

"From Jessica," RickyJo said. She could feel her eyes welling with tears. There was nothing she wanted more than for her family to be here now. During her pregnancy she had shoved all her fears and emotions deep down inside of her. She had never grieved over losing her family and now it felt like all those emotions were bubbling up to the surface. Grabbing a rag, she wiped her eyes and tried to get control of herself. Having a breakdown wasn't going to help anyone, least of all her. Daryl took her hand and squeezed it. He didn't need to ask what was wrong, he knew she was missing her family. He missed them too. More than anything he had wanted to get her back home before she had her baby. That was never going to happen now.

"We can make a new home here," RickyJo told him. He looked up, meeting her eyes. How had she known what he was thinking. She leaned forward, kissing him on the lips and touching him softly on the neck and cheek. Daryl looked back down at the small baby.

"You know I think he looks like me a little," he said.

"A little?," RickyJo said, "he looks just like you except for the hair. Everyone already said it as soon as he came out." Daryl laughed. The baby started to stir, turning his head and opening his mouth. He sucked at Daryl's arm and then let go, crying out loudly and flailing his small fists in the air. RickyJo took him back, offered him her breast and settled him down once he latched on.

"He sure is fucking demanding," Daryl said with a smile. With his brother as the father and RickyJo for a mother, the little guy was going to turn out to be a real ass kicker. RickyJo just looked down at the baby with that strange soft expression on her face again.

"Have you decided yet?," she asked Daryl.

"Decided what?"

"What you are going to name him," she said. Daryl looked down at the small baby. He had been thinking on it for some time, but now that he actually saw the baby, he knew just what he wanted to call him.

Everyone was sleeping softly in their cells. Shane, Daryl and Glen had gone looking for Tdog and Carol. Tdog was dead, but they found Carol. She was a little dehydrated but otherwise fine. Beth poked in to check on RickyJo and the babies. She was sleeping with them on a mattress on the floor. Daryl was asleep on a mattress next to her and Shane was in one of the bunks. He had wanted to stay close in case RickyJo needed help with his daughter in the night. Rick was locked in a cell a few doors down. Glen had let him out for dinner, but he had been acting crazy, talking to people who weren't there. For safety, Hershel had decided to lock him back in for the night. Beth had taken the keys and she could feel them, making her pocket bulge and feel heavy.

She looked in at Rick. He was not looking much better than he had looked earlier. He was crouched against the wall, rocking back and forth and mumbling to himself. _Should have never let him go. Should have shot him. Got Lori killed. Killed Lori. Should have shot him. Killer. Killer. I am not the killer you are. They should have let Shane kill me. Murdered Lori. Should have shot him._ Beth felt terrible for the man. She knew he had never meant for anything bad to happen to Lori. Shane had been screaming terrible things at Rick when he had attacked him earlier. Saying Rick would rather see Lori dead than happy with him and that Rick might as well have killed her himself. Before today, Beth had been scared of the men from the prison. She had thought RickyJo was wrong to let them stay. But when Shane had been on top of Rick, beating and choking him, that big man had picked him up like he was no more than a baby and stopped the fight instantly. If it wasn't for him, Rick might be dead. She knew she had been wrong now to judge those men just because they were prisoners. Now she was glad to have them here, and reminded herself to cook something special for Tiny the next time she had the chance.

Beth slipped the key in the lock to the cell and turned it, making the bolt click open. Every noise seemed to echo off the walls in this place and for a minute she was worried she might have woken someone. She waited a minute, listening. No one came out or made any noise, so she slid the bars open enough to get herself through and then closed them behind her, reaching through to lock the door behind her. When she thought about it, locking the door was stupid since she was in here with the keys. If Rick wanted to take them from her and get out, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

Rick was still crouched down against the wall, grumbling to himself. She knelt down and touched his shoulder softly, making him jump. Before she knew what happened he was on top of her pinning her to the hard concrete floor. She had to tell him who she was a few times before he would get off and let her up. Then he sat back down against the wall. Beth sat down next to him. She spoke to him in a soft voice.

"What happened wasn't your fault," she said, "Lori died in childbirth. That might have happened even if this was still regular life." Rick sat quietly, thinking this over. He remembered how Lori had almost died giving birth to Carl. That was why they had never tried for any more kids. Rick felt some of the horrible guilt he had been feeling start to lift off his shoulders.

"I was so mad at her for choosing Shane," he admitted, "sometimes I wished that something bad would happen to her." Beth put her arms around Rick and hugged him close.

"He was your best friend and she was your wife," Beth told him, "I think its normal to be angry. It doesn't mean that what happened was your fault."

"Shane wanted to shoot that prisoner that ran. I stopped him," Rick said. Beth thought about this. She wanted to say the right thing.

"You were right," she said, "you had no way of knowing he would come back and do what he did. We can't just go around shooting everyone we meet because of things they might never even do." She paused a minute and then added. "Tiny saved your life today," she said, "If we had shot him, you would be dead."

Beth felt Rick's arms go under her legs and around her back, lifting her into his lap. He held her against his chest. She felt warm and protected. And she was glad he seemed to be relaxing a little and not mumbling like a crazy person anymore. He was rubbing her back and her arms, squeezing them gently. She was sitting in his lap, and she could feel he was becoming aroused. Beth had planned to come in here and talk to him, to make the man feel better, but she had not thought about what might happen beyond that. She thought she should get up and leave now that he was feeling better, but it felt good to be here in his arms. Her nipples were hard and she could feel a strange throbbing between her legs. It was a feeling that was both good and a little painful at the same time. And she felt like she needed something she couldn't explain.

She put her arm around Rick's neck, leaning in to kiss him on the neck. He moved his hand down her arm, reaching in to unbutton her shirt. She had on shorts and a button down top, earlier she had been washing out her undergarments so they were still hanging out on the line to dry. With the top few buttons undone, Rick reached inside her shirt and touched her. He rubbed his rough knuckles against her nipple, making it hard. She moaned into his neck, and felt herself lifted into the air. He set her down on the bunk and laid down next to her, reaching to unbutton the rest of her shirt and push it open. It was warm inside the prison but the air felt cold on her bare skin. She felt a shiver rip up her spine and her nipples went rock hard.

Her breasts were small and firm, with tiny pink upturned nipples. Rick looked at her. She was breathing hard and her chest was heaving. There was nothing that he wanted more in the world at this moment than to get her breasts in his mouth. He also knew if he did, he wasn't going to be able to stop himself from what would happen next. Her hands came up, grabbing him and pulling his mouth to hers so she could kiss him. She kissed him hard, flicking her tounge out to taste him. Everything that had happened earlier that day was still swirling around in his mind and he just wanted to forget it all. When he felt her hands in his hair and her tounge in his mouth the last reservations he had about what he was about to do crumbled and floated away like leaves.

They were kissing, and then he was kissing her neck and shoulders and then her nipple was in his mouth and he was sucking it, flicking his tounge back and forth across the tip. Beth moaned and arched her back. She had been felt up a few times but no one had ever had their mouth on her before. He took his mouth away from that nipple and started on the other one, his hand moving down her stomach and into her shorts. The hair between her legs was soft and fine and when she felt his hand on it she tensed for a minute, clamping her legs together. He felt her stiffen up and pulled his hand back out of her shorts. He felt her legs instead, rubbing his hands up and down her thighs until he felt them relax and fall apart. Then he sat up and pulled her shorts off, tossing them onto the floor.

She was nervous now. Beth understood what sex was, but she had never come close to having it before and she wasn't sure what to expect. When he leaned down like he was going to put his mouth on her private area she was shocked. She gasped in surprise and moved back, pushing him away. He gripped her by the knees and pulled her back down the bed, putting his hands on the inside of her thighs and pushing them apart. Then used his forearms to press her down onto the mattress, pining her in place with her legs spread. She put her hands down there, covering herself. He laughed and leaned in with his face, kissing her hands and fingers. She felt his mouth on the inside of her thighs, kissing and licking as close to her opening as he could get. He didn't feel her legs trying to close anymore, if anything she was spreading them wider, pressing her knees back against the bed. He let them go and reached up to touch her breasts again, toying with her nipples until he felt her hips start to move.

She was still covering herself with her hands, and he took her wrists, moving them gently away and placing her hands on her thighs. Then he leaned in to get a taste of her. He heard her gasp again but she made no move to stop him this time. Starting gently, he flicked his tounge back and forth over the small spot of pleasure above her opening. It only took a few strokes before she was arching up into his face, moaning like a little whore. He increased the speed and pressure with his mouth while he moved his hand down to slide his fingers up inside her. She wasn't even sure anymore what was being done to her, but it felt so good she didn't care. Her hips were moving and she felt like she could feel something building up inside her. He rolled on his side away from her for a moment, and she could hear him unzipping his pants and pushing them down. Then he was on top of her, his fingers inside her again, pushing into her harder this time, trying to get her ready. She was a tight fit, even for his fingers, and he was torn between worrying about hurting her and thinking about how good this was going to feel for him.

She was rocking against Rick's hand when she felt him move it out of her and replace it with something much larger. He pushed the tip of himself inside her. She was small, but plenty wet enough. If he started slow he didn't think it would hurt her. He moved the tip of his dick in and out of her until she started to respond, then he sunk in with his full length. Beth had to bite down on her lip to keep from crying out. He was kissing her now, sliding his tounge in and out of her mouth with the rhythm of his hips. He reached down, grabbing her knees and pulling them up so he could get just a little deeper inside her. Her hips were rocking up to meet him and she was gripping his shoulders, breathing hard and making soft little high pitched noises each time he pushed into her.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her on top of him. Then he took her legs and pulled her knees up, spreading her leg as wide as they would go. He bent his own knees, digging into the mattress with his heels. He was gripping her ass now, pushing into her hard and fast. She pushed up, bracing herself with her hands on his chest. Now that felt right, whatever spot that was inside her, he was hiting it now everytime he pushed into her. She held her breath, arching her back and wanting more and more Then she felt it rip through her, like a muscle spasm deep inside of her, clenching as waves of pleasure passed through her over and over again. She felt Rick pull her down, putting his hand over her mouth before she realized she had been crying out quite loudly. He pumped into her a few more times and then yanked her quickly off of him. Then she felt a warm gush of fluid splash up onto her ass. She didn't know that much about sex, but she knew enough to understand that meant that he had pulled out of her so she wouldn't get pregnant. Rick thought he ought to say something to Beth, or maybe ask if she was alright, but instead he just held her close and shut his eyes.

Beth woke up to the sound of someone saying her name with some urgency. She grunted and settled back down, warm and cozy against Rick's body heat. Daryl picked up a stray pop can and leaned through the bars, nailing Rick as hard as he could in the head with it. The man startled awake, leaping up and knocking Beth out of the small bed onto the floor.

"What the fuck," he cursed.

"Get fucking dressed and get the hell out of there," Daryl hissed at them, "Hershel is up and headed this way." Beth groped for her clothes, not caring at the moment that she was fully naked in front of Daryl. She could hear RickyJo talking to her father, asking him if he was sure the baby didn't feel hot and would he come in and feel the other baby's head too. Beth pulled he shorts on and buttoned her shirt as fast as she could, the keys were laying on the floor next to where her shorts had been and she tossed them to Daryl so he could slide the door open. "Go go he is the the cell with RickyJo," Daryl told her. She ran like crazy for the outside door, stopping to laugh and catch her breath once she was safely around the corner. RickyJo leaned out of her cell to see if Beth was gone. Daryl gave her a little nod.

"You know Hershel," she said, "I think maybe my hands were just cold. MJ doesn't feel hot at all to me now. Sorry I bothered you." Hershel gave her a warm smile.

"Its never a bother," he told her. New mothers were often worried there might be something wrong with their babies. It was perfectly natural. Now that Rick was dressed Daryl called down to Hershel.

"I am going to let Rick out now," he said, "he has got to pee and he seems much better anyway." Hershel nodded his approval He had felt terrible about locking Rick up, but he had been afraid the man might hurt himself. Shane came out, holding his daughter. Rick came out and walked over. He had not even had a look at either of the new arrivals yet. Hershel was happy to see the two men seemed to be getting along. Shane did not offer to let Rick hold the baby, but he did let the man lean in and get a look at her.

"She looks like Lori," Rick said softly. RickyJo came over to break up the awkward silence.

"Look at this little man," she said, offering Rick the baby to hold. Rick smiled. The baby had some hair on it, that was for sure.

"He looks just like Daryl," Rick said. Daryl smiled. He liked that the baby looked like him. Daryl knew that the baby technically was his brother's son, but more and more he was coming to think of the little guy as belonging to him. He would have been his anyway if his dumbass brother had just kept it in his pants.

The baby had been content for a moment, but seemed to notice suddenly that he was no longer being held by his mother. He let out a loud wail and RickyJo came back to scoop him up and offer him her breast. He suckled at her, making happy little grunting noises. Oscar walked by and said good morning to them on his way outside. His wife had nursed both of their children so seeing RickyJo didn't phase him one bit. Rick remembered Beth had taken off in that direction and joined Oscar to head outside and look for her. She was down by the guard tower talking to her sister. When she saw Rick she gave him a wave and he headed in her direction. He wanted to say something to her but Maggie was standing there.

"Say what you want," Maggie said, "Beth already told me."

"Good," he said, "because I was thinking it might be a good idea to tell your dad about us. I don't think I can take too many more pop cans to the head." Maggie smiled. She had been worried Beth was making too much out of one sexual encounter. It was nice to see that Rick seemed to return her sister's feelings. However, when it came to telling her dad what was going on, they were on their own.


	20. Chapter 20

6 Months Before the Outbreak

RickyJo woke up to the sound of yelling that was coming from her living room. She could tell the louder voice belonged to Laney. Heading down the hall, she was trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes when she tripped over a garbage bag and almost landed on her face. The door to Daryl's room was still shut. There was crap all over the place, it looked like mostly clothes and shoes. Laney came stomping back down the hall, and seeing RickyJo there, turned her anger on her and started yelling at the woman.

"You won't let me move in but he is allowed to stay here?," she raged, pointing back towards the living room. RickyJo was guessing now what was going on. Merle must have broken up with whatever girlfriend he had and come to stay with them a while. Before she could answer Merle yelled at Laney from where he was lying on the couch.

"Thats because I am family and you are nothing but a fucking bean flicker," he hollered at her. Before RickyJo could help herself she started laughing. Sometimes she really would like to know where he came up with this shit. Did he sit around and think up insults for everyone and then wait until he had the opportunity to use them? Now Laney was really angry. She did not like being insulted by a piece of trash like Merle Dixon but she liked being laughed at even less.

"Are you going to let him talk to me like that?," she demanded of RickyJo. It was on the tip of RickyJo's tounge just to say yes and laugh some more.

"For fuck's sake Laney," she said instead, "Just relax. He didn't mean anything."

"Yes I did," Merle called out, "You're a stupid fucking whore!" With that Laney stormed down the hall to get her things and leave. RickyJo walked out to her living room where Merle was still under a blanket on her couch.

"Thats more than enough Merle," she told him. He just started laughing. RickyJo thought about lecturing him some more but she knew it wouldn't do any good. Instead she took aim at where she guessed his ass was and smacked it hard. He jumped a little, pulling his hand out from under the blanket to rub his behind. Laney, who was now fully dressed, stormed through the living room and out the door, slamming it behind her. RickyJo was temporarily distracted by this and Merle used the opportunity to snake his hand over and catch her by the wrist.

"You want to play rough," he asked. RickyJo immediatley started trying to yank away from him and run but he had a tight hold on her. She moved backwards, making him roll off the couch before he pulled her down onto the floor with him. Now they were wrestling, he was trying to tickle and pinch her and she was trying to smack at him and make him get off. RickyJo was strong, but not stronger than a grown man who outweighed her by probably fifty pounds. She only got a few good whacks in before he was on top of her, pining her arms above her head with one hand and using the other hand to tickle her ribs.

"Stop it you asshole, my freaking boobs are going to fall out of my shirt," she yelled between giggles.

"Good I hope they do," he told her. At that she started screaming for Daryl as loud as she could. He let go of her arms to try and cover her mouth and she managed to shove him over. Rolling on top of him she straddled him and sat up so she could smack at his arms and chest.

"Why did you have to be so fucking rude," she yelled, "She was going to make me waffles."

"Twat waffles," he replied. This was too much for RickyJo and she collapsed on the floor next to him in a fit of laughter, holding her stomach. She looked up to see Daryl staring down at both of them like they were crazy. Merle was in his boxers and RickyJo was wearing boy shorts and a tight tank top. The coffee table was knocked over on its side with whatever had been on it thrown all over the carpet.

"What in the hell is going on out here," he asked them, "I am trying to fucking sleep." Getting nothing but more laughter in response, Daryl turned and stalked back to his room, making them both laugh harder. Finally RickyJo collected herself and stood up to fix the table and try to clean up the mess. There had been a cup on the table, but luckily it had only been full of water. She was sopping the water up with a towel when Laney stormed back into the apartment. Laney looked around. She didn't see Merle, he was in the bathroom. RickyJo just looked at her, wondering what she wanted now.

"If you are going to let him stay here again after what happened last time," Laney announced, "I am done." Ultimatums did not sit too well with RickyJo.

"Done doing what Laney?," she asked. Laney was surprised at her tone. She was used to RickyJo giving in to whatever she wanted.

"Done with this relationship," Laney told her, preparing herself to start crying.

"Okay then," RickyJo told her, "I want my key back." She walked over and grabbed Laney's keys from her hand. She took her key off the ring and then handed the rest roughly back to the woman. Now Laney was turning on the water works. RickyJo felt a familiar pang of guilt but this time she sucked it back and put her foot down. She had enough of Laney's bullshit. It was nothing but constant drama with her and frankly she was sick of it.

"Don't you care about me at all," Laney sobbed.

"Laney," RickyJo told her, "I think its time for you to go."

"What do you mean," Laney cried, "I love you." RickyJo said nothing, she just walked over and opened the door, standing next to it. Laney made no move to leave, she just stood there crying. RickyJo wanted her out, but she wasn't sure what to do now if she refused to leave. Merle had been watching them from the hallway and he wasn't going to miss his chance to throw that little bitch out. He walked towards Laney, waving his hands at her to shoo her towards the door.

"You heard her Laney," he said to the woman, "get the fuck out of here." She made no move to leave so he grabbed her firmly by the arm and walked her to the door.

"Get your hands off me," she yelled, "Don't you fucking touch me." She tried to yank away but he shoved her forcefully out into the hallway and then slammed the door in her face, locking it. Then Merle turned to see what RickyJo's reaction to this was going to be. She stood there staring at the door with her mouth open. Then she turned to Merle.

"How long have you been waiting to do that?," she asked him, cracking a smile.

"A long fucking time," he answered. Then they both started laughing. The look on Laney's face when he threw her out had been absolutley priceless. Daryl had come back out of his room and was standing in the hall, scratching his head.

"What the hell is going on now?," he asked. It was becoming clear that he was not going to be getting anymore sleep today.

"Nothing little brother," Merle told him, "just taking out the trash." This made RickyJo start laughing again and she told Daryl what really happened.

"Good riddance," he declared. He knew there was a chance RickyJo might change her mind and make up with the woman later, but at least she was gone temporarily. Daryl and Merle helped RickyJo clean up the mess in the living room in exchange for her cooking breakfast. Now Merle was putting his things away in the guestroom while Daryl sat on the counter, puffing on a joint and wathcing RickyJo make the food. She had taken a few puffs first and then decided she wanted not just waffles, but chicken and waffles. The more he smoked the better it was smelling.

"You still going to Mexico?," he asked her. She nodded.

"Thats work shit," she said.

"Going on vacation to Mexcio is for work?," he asked, confused.

"Its a food science conference," she explained, "they are playing me to come there and be a speaker." Daryl was impressed. He had thought she was just going on vacation. "They are paying airfare and food for me to bring a guest too," she added, "thats why I was taking Laney." She glanced over at Daryl. He could tell she was leading up to something and he was guessing what it was.

"Nope. Nope. Nope," he told her, "you know how I feel about leaving the country. I do not want to end up in mexican jail." RickyJo walked over from the stove and leaned in putting her arms around him and making little whiny dog noises. He shook his head firmly and told her, "No way." She shrugged a little and gave him an evil smirk.

"Hey Merle," she yelled down the hall, "you want to go to Mexico with me?" Daryl looked at her. He had thought she would maybe take her cousin or one of her little biology girls from the school. Not his brother.

"Hell yes," Merle hollered back, coming out of the room and heading for the kitchen to pull her into a big hug.

"Alright," Daryl said reluctantly, "I will go." Merle looked at him and then back to RickyJo.

"Hey, can I still go?," he asked.

"Sorry honey," RickyJo told him, "I have a plus one not a plus every redneck I know." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek to ease the disappointment and turned back to the stove. Before Merle went back to finish sorting through his things, he leaned in and put his mouth near Daryl's ear.

"If you are going instead of me," he whispered, "get her drunk on tequila and give her a good fuck for me." Daryl shoved his brother away from him. Merle could really be disgusting sometimes. When he walked back to the bedroom RickyJo turned to Daryl.

"He tell you to get me drunk and fuck me?," she asked. Daryl laughed at her.

"You hear him?," he asked.

"No, thats all he ever says to you about me," she answered, rolling her eyes and smiling. RickyJo went back to the food, turning every once in a while to smile at Daryl over her shoulder. She figured she better get him good and buttered up before she told him that the some of the conference events were formal and he was going to have to go buy a suit before they left. She would pay for it, but getting him to go clothes shopping was like trying to shampoo a cat.


	21. Chapter 21

Present Day

Formula was no longer a concern, but they still needed some other things for the babies. Cloth diapers and clothes, plus RickyJo wanted a carrier that she should could put at least one of them in when she was carrying them too keep her hands free. She said she just wanted it to make things easier for her, but really she wanted it just in case something happened and they had to leave the prison. Glen had looked through the phone book and found one of those fancy baby boutique shops. Since the place was smaller and didn't sell food, it was more likely that no one had bothered to break in and sack the place. Maggie had voluteered to go with him on the run. RickyJo had a feeling they were hoping for some alone time to suck a little face with each other.

The weather was beautiful and most people were outside. Some were filling buckets with dirt and carrying them over to the area near the fenced walkway where they would get plenty of sun. RickyJo and Sammie were planting seeds in them, different kinds depending on the size of the bucket. Shane and Daryl were breaking apart wooden pallets to build some shallow planting boxes for the greens and salad lettuce. Back at her granmother's farm, RickyJo and her cousin had ran a small online seed business. When the outbreak came, RickJo had half a trunk full of orders that she had been planning on shipping out to customers when she came back from her camping trip. This meant they had seeds for days and weeks, almost any kind of vegetable seed you want and even some hybrids that RickyJo had cross bred in the lab at the university and won awards for. The girls were chatting away, excited that they would soon have some food that wasn't out of a can.

Beth and Rick were helping Hershel build a keyhole garden. This was a raised circular garden with a round wire cage in the middle. Any garbage that wasn't metal or plastic could be thrown into the middle cage as a compost pile which served to get rif of their garbage and fertilize the dirt surrounding it. They would be able to grow more food in the rich soil of this garden, and they would have a place to get rid of their trash. Beth was smiling over at Rick as she held the wire in place while he tied it together. She was happy that her dad knew about them now and they no longer had to sneak around and hide their relationship. RickyJo came over, she had baby Judith in her arms, feeding her.

"What were you thinking you wanted to put in this one?," she asked Hershel about the garden.

"Not sure yet," he said. He had a feeling the question was just a formality. RickyJo already knew what she wanted to put in all the gardens.

"I was thinking the medicinal herbs could go in this one, and the basil and stuff in the other one," she said. Hershel nodded. It was a good idea. He got up and came over to get a look at the baby. She was feeding but her eyes were open and alert. Hershel had been checking in on the little ones regularly and he was happy to see that both babies were gaining weight. RickyJo tipped up her water bottle, drinking the last of it. She had never felt as thirsty or hungry in her whole life as she felt every single day now. It was like no matter how much she ate or drank it was never enough. Hershel had noticed that while her breasts were looking much bigger, since they were full of milk, the rest of her was looking skinnier by the day. She had lost the baby weight too fast. He had done the math a few times and she should be eating about double the amount of food that she was eating now. Sadly, they just didn't have enough. Most of the local stores they had tried were cleared out, but Hershel thought maybe he would suggest to Daryl that he needed to go hunting again soon. Other than that, all they could do was plant the gardens and wait.

Carol came out holding MJ, with Axel close on her heels. As soon as he had figured out that Carol was single and straight, he had done nothing but follow her around like white on rice. RickyJo couldn't decide if it was really cute or really creepy. Either way it was funny to watch.

"Once Judy Moody is done I will swap you," RickyJo told Carol. Axel came over, trying not to stare at RickyJo's exposed breast and then looking at it anyway and then looking down at his feet. The small baby in Carol's arm heard his mother's voice and began squawking for her immediately. "Or I could take him now," RickyJo said with a sigh. She loved the babies, but sometimes she felt like she was being suffocated. At least Judith would sleep by herself. Anytime she put him down, MJ screamed like he was being violently murdered. And god forbid Daryl should try to pick him up, or he would really go crazy. Thankfully, Judith looked like she was about done anyway, so RickyJo handed her to Axel to hold while she took her baby from Carol. Now he was happy, smiling his gummy little smile up at the object of his every affection. RickyJo couldn't help but smile back at him, holding onto his little hand before he could grab at her nipple with it. Once he started eating, she let his hand go.

Carl was dumping a load of dirt into the garden they had built when he saw something strange down by the fence. A black woman with crazy hair was standing in the middle of a group of walkers, holding a shopping basket. Carl took off down to the guard tower at a run, yelling for Tiny who was on guard duty. By the time he got there, the woman was walking towards the gate. Then she fainted. The walkers had noticed her now, and they were closing in, ready to rip her to pieces. Tiny had the gate open and he ran out and picked her up. Carl grabbed the basket and they both bolted back inside, locking the gate behind them. Tiny took the woman inside to the area which served as the infirmary. Hershel was close behind him.

At first everyone assumed that the woman had been hurt and had just happened upon the prison, looking for shelter. But then Carl showed his dad and Shane what was in the basket. RickyJo came over too, lifting up the exact baby carrier that she had asked Glen for, along with diapers, clothes and a toy duck. They all stood staring at each other a minute, trying to make sense of what was going on. Then Rick rushed inside. The woman was still passed out, but he threw a little water in her face, making her wake up. Hershel stood back. He had been ready to check her injuries, but he could tell now something else was going on.

The woman stood up, backing away from Rick. She was disoriented and lots of people she didn't know were standing around staring at her. At least she could tell she wasn't back in Woodbury.

"How did you know to bring that baby stuff here," Rick asked her. She tried to clear her head.

"The supplies were dropped by a pretty girl and a young asian guy," she said. The man questioning her got closer. He was too close and she didn't like it.

"Where are they?," he demanded.

"They were taken," she said.

"Where," he said. When she didn't answer fast enough he moved in and hit her on her injured leg. That was when RickyJo had enough. She moved in and shoved Rick back hard, almost making him fall. He was lucky she was still holding her baby in one hand or she might have sent him flying. This poor woman had come here for help, and she obviously had information about Glen and Maggie. And Rick was going to slap at her like that. That was totally unacceptable as far as RickyJo was concerned. She stood there in front of the woman, giving Rick a look that he knew meant business. Shane also wanted to get the information of the woman as fast as possible but he did not like the threatening way Rick was looking at the woman who kept his baby alive. He grabbed Rick and pulled him away.

"Go take a fucking walk," he said, shoving at him. Rick thought about shoving him back but he could see Daryl was behind the man, ready to back him up. He turned on his heels and headed outside. Now that he was gone, RickyJo gestured for the woman to sit back down and sent Sammie to get her some water. She motioned Hershel in so he could check her injuries and she explained to the woman that he was a doctor. While Hershel worked, RickyJo introduced herself to the woman. Michonne looked the girl over. She was tall and covered in tattoos, and had a baby attached to one of her breasts. Michonne had seen a lot of shit in her day but she had never seem a woman suckle a baby and start a fight with a grown man at the same time. The girl was pretty, with long blonde hair that was up on top of her head in a sloppy bun.

"Two members of our group went out earlier for baby supplies," RickyJo explained. "One of them was Hershel's daughter Maggie," she said, gesturing to the man that was cleaning Michonne's wounds. "The Asian guy was her boyfriend Glen. Can you tell us what happened to them." Michonne took another drink of the water the girl had brought her. Then she explained to them what she had seen. Shane looked on with approval. It had taken longer than he would have liked, but RickyJo had gotten a lot of information out of the woman. Much more than Rick would have gotten by intimidating her. He stepped in a kneeled down by the woman, noticing that RickyJo moved back to let him get in closer.

"Do you know where they were taken?," he asked. Michonne nodded.

"Can you walk?," he asked. She nodded again. "Good," he said, "because you are taking us there."

The group had geared up and left quickly. They had taken the new woman, Michonnne, with them, and Shane, Daryl, Rick, Oscar and Sammie had gone. Shane had not wanted to take the young woman with them at first but besides Daryl, she was the best shot with a bow. She could take out any walkers on the way without making noise or wasting ammunition. While it was scary for the group making the rescue attempt, it was worse for everyone that had stayed behind at the prison with nothing to do but wait and worry. RickyJo had watched until Daryl was out of sight and then taken the babies into her cell and shut the curtain. Beth had walked by to check on her and heard her muffled crying. She understood how the woman felt, she was worried about Rick too. Carol walked over.

"Let her be," Carol told Beth, "if she wanted company she would be out here." Beth nodded and they went to try and find something to make for dinner.

It was a long night and into the next day before anyone came back. The girls had been getting more and more anxious. RickyJo had kept everyone inside with the cell block locked in case they were caught and people from the other group came looking. Now people were pacing back and forth, going out to look out the outside door and see if they could see anything. Finally Beth started yelling. There was a car at the gate.

"Its them!," she yelled. She had seen Rick get out to unlock the gate. RickyJo came flying out with the keys and unlocked the door. Everyone rushed out and down the steps. The car seemed to take forever coming up the drive and RickyJo leaned this way and that, trying to look for Daryl. When they pulled up it became clear that he wasn't there. Sammie came towards her. She could see the shocked look on RickyJo's face.

"He's not dead," Sammie said.

"Then where is he?," she asked. Maybe he was behind them in another car. Shane stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"He said to tell you he was sorry," he said, "he left with his brother."


	22. Chapter 22

6 Months Before the Outbreak

Daryl would have been happy to lay by the pool and drink beer but of course RickyJo wanted to go exploring. If he had refused to go with her, she would have just gone by herself and then he would have had to worry about her all day. So along he went. First she had insisted on going to a cockfight, which had been funny for about five minutes and then really gross. Now they were walking around in a huge outdoor market, trying a bunch of weird foods. RickyJo had talked him into trying something called escamoles and then told him after he was done that they were ant eggs. She had laughed and tried to explain they were a local delicacy while he washed his mouth out with beer.

"Where's your sense of adventure," she asked.

"Feed me anymore bugs and I am going back to the hotel," he told her. Now she was laughing and wrapping her arms around the man to hug him. Two small children came out from behind the display at the shop closest to them. They stared up at RickyJo with their little mouths open. Tattoos were apparently not really a thing in Mexico and with how hot it was outside RickyJo was dressed so most of hers were visible. Everywhere they went people stared at either her tattoos, her breasts, or both. She smiled at the kids, turning so they could get a better look at the big lizard she had tattooed on her thigh. They began pointing and talking loudly in spanish until a woman Daryl guessed was their mother came out and hollered at them, shooing them back behind the large display of fruit. With the children out of the way, RickyJo saw something she had been looking for in the market, xoconostle. It was a special type of prickly pear. She planned to buy some to eat, save the seeds and take them back to one of her greenhouses and see if she could get any of them to sprout.

Back at the hotel, they sat on the outdoor patio attached to the room, eating pears and dipping chips into the fresh guacamole she had bought at the market, washing it down with lots of mexican beer.

"I have a thing at four today I need to go to," she told Daryl, "but then we can do whatever." He nodded, shoveling his mouth full and making a mess on his shirt.

"When is your speech?," he asked. She told him her speech wasn't until the next day at the formal dinner.

"Thats what you need the suit for," she reminded him. He gave a little snort. Despite his reservations about leaving the country and being tricked into eating ant eggs, Daryl had actually been having a really good time. They had done a bunch of really cheesy tourist activities that the hotel offered, like riding horses on the beach and swimming with a dolphin, but it had acutally been really fun. Well, RickyJo had got in with the dolphin while he watcehd. And she had talked to a few hotel maids and found a killer local bar where they had eaten dinner at the night before. She was talking about going back again tonight and Daryl found himself looking forward to it. Since she had been originally been planning to bring Laney with her, she had upgraded the room to some kind of honeymoon suite. She had forgotten all about it until they got there and then had a good laugh. The place was done up totally romatic with flowers on the bed and a big whirlpool tub in the bathroom and a mirror above the bed. Everyone at the hotel kept telling them congratulations on getting married, which RickyJo thought was hilarious and Daryl thought was a little annoying.

"What are you going to do while I am gone," she asked him, reaching over to rub his arm and give his hand a squeeze. Daryl hadn't really thought much about it.

"Take a nap," he said. RickyJo smiled at him, she was a little tired herself, from being out in the sun all morning, and laying down for a little siesta sounded appealing. "You sure you don't want to stay and take one too?," he asked.

"I can't," she said with some regret. One of her former students was giving a talk about climate change and she would feel terrible if she missed it. Before she ccould talk herself into staying, RickyJo got up and went into the room to wash up a little and change into something more appropraite for a science conference. When she came back out on the porch to tell Daryl she wass leaving, she looked like a different person. Her hair was wrapped up in a tight bun at the back of her head and she had long loose dress pants on. The shirt she was wearing was white and came to the elbows, covering her tattoos. She was carrying a purse large enough to hold her notebook in case she wanted to take any notes. Daryl always thought she looked strange when she dressed like that. He knew thats how most people in her life knew her, but to him she always looked like she was wearing a costume.

They were back at the beach bar, drinking tequila and watching the salsa dancers. RickyJo was leaning against Daryl, her hand on his leg. He had his arm around her, feeling the bare skin on her arm and shoulder. After her science conference activities she had changed into a long soft dress that had thin little straps on top, leaving her shoulders and most of her back exposed. Daryl felt her head lean in to rest on his shoulder.

"Tired?," he asked her. She sat back up and nodded. "Lets go then," he said. The hotel wasn't that far, so they walked back on the beach. RickyJo took her shoes off and held the bottom of her dress up so she could walk on the part of the sand where the ocean was washing in. She tripped over a plastic sand bucket some kid must have left there earlier in the day and almost fell. Daryl caught her.

"Too much tequila," he said. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. There was no such thing as too much tequila. He felt her mouth against his, kissing him softly on the lips. He could feel the bare skin of her back and her breasts pressed against his chest. She had dropped her shoes and dress now, not caring if the bottom of it got wet. Daryl let her kiss him, not resisting but not responding yet either. He felt her hand twine up into the back of his hand, pulling it gently. Then she pressed her mouth against him with more force, using her tounge to part his lips. He kissed her back now, moving his hand down to cup her ass. She tasted like tequila and limes.

From nearby he suddenly heard laughter. Some drunk college kids were walking by, probably heading down to the bar they had just come from. They yelled a few choice things at the couple, mostly involving what they thought Daryl ought to do to with the woman he was kissing. He moved away from RickyJo, thinking about pounding one of their faces in, but he felt her hand on his arm. She wasn't grabbing or yanking at him, just resting it there.

"Lets go back to the hotel," she said, "its just some drunk kids." He nodded and turned away from them. Daryl wanted to go back to kissing her, but it seemed like the mood had been spoiled. RickyJo was picking up her shoes and wringing the bottom of her dress out. She took his hand on the way back, but made no other move to kiss or touch him. When they got back to the room she went into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. She had a queer feeling in the pit of her stomach. Daryl had kissed her plenty of times before. But in the past, it had always made her feel uneasy and scared of what he might want to do next. She hadn't felt that way tonight. Instead, she had felt her nipples go hard and a throbbing had started between her legs. RickyJo looked at herself in the mirror. She felt for a moment that she didn't know the person there. _Way too fucking drunk is what you are._ After a little more cold water, she headed out into the room. Daryl was out on the porch smoking and she was grateful not to have to face him. She pulled on some pajama shorts and a loose tshirt and flopped down onto the bed. When Daryl came in from smoking she was asleep. He looked down at her, trying to sort out his feelings about what happened on the beach.

RickyJo was under the sheets, her long hair spread out on the pillow. He had kissed her many times before, but for some reason, tonight had felt different. A little anger rose up in his throat for the men that had interrupted them. She had let him kiss her before, and a few times they had done more than kiss. Before tonight, she had always felt stiff and uncomfortable in his arms. Maybe he was making too much out of it. She was drunk after all and its not like they hadn't kissed before. _I didn't mean anything._ He lay down listening to her soft even breathing and closed his eyes.

RickyJo had been down at one of the salons in the hotel, getting ready for her big night. She hated sitting still, but the woman had done a great job. She was back in the room now, getting dressed and since Daryl was no where to be seen, she knew he must have gotten bored and gone down to the hotel bar. She opened the garment bag that had her dress inside. Speaking in front of people was something that she was used to, but doing it in a formal gown was something new. She was nervous. Pulling her dress on she was wishing she had chosen something more conservative. The dress was gold and sparkly and came up like a halter on top. It was long, but it hugged her body, showing off her curves. There was a lot of people she knew at this conference and many more that knew her. None of them had seen her out of her normal work clothes. She got her notes for her speech together and stuffed them into her tiny purse. Then she took a deep breath and headed out of the room and down to the bar to look for Daryl and a stiff drink.

Looking around the bar, RickyJo started getting more nervous. She didn't see Daryl anywhere and was now wondering where else he might had gone. He had spotted her as soon as she had come in. It did not escape him that most of the other men in the place and a lot of the women had turned to look at her too. Daryl held up his hand, giving her a little wave and he saw her smile in relief. She headed over to the bar and took the seat next to him. It was no wonder she hadn't been able to spot him. He looked so different all dressed up. Instead of dragging him out and making him shop, she had bribed Merle to do it for her. She had been a little concerned about what he was going to be wearing tonight, but he actually looked great. He had a black suit and a white shirt, no tie. The truth was he had a tie but had not been able to figure out how to tie it, and had figured fuck it and left it in the room.

Daryl laughed at her, making her realize she had been staring at him with her mouth hanging open like those little kids she had seen at the market. She collected herself and ordered a drink. It was hard not to stare at him. The last and only time she had seen him in a suit had been at her grandfather's funeral, and that had been a borrrowed one that didn't fit him well. He really cleaned up nice. Daryl had not been happy about dressing up in this stupid monket suit, but he liked the reaction he was getting from RickyJo. She reached over and touched the hair behind his ear.

"Did you get your hair cut?," she asked him. He nodded. His brother had told him to do it before he left but he had forgotten and then remembered today. "You look great," she told him with some enthusisam. He laughed as she gulped down the drink she had ordered and stood up. Daryl noticed a lot of other people in the bar were getting up, so it must be time for this thing to start.

They had to check in, with some guy that had RickyJo's name on a list. Then they were shown over to a table up front. The dinner was okay, Daryl had just watched what RickyJo did and then did the same. Normally he wouldn't care, but he didn't want to offend her work colleagues or embarrass her. Most of the dinner conversation was beyond him so he just kept his mouth shut. After the food, a man came to get RickyJo and some of the men that were also sitting at the table with them. There was a young girl with short blonde hair sitting next to him.

"I was trying to figure out which one of you was the science person," she admitted to Daryl after she watched RickyJo walk away. He smiled at her. She was high school young, likely the daughter of the man that she had been sitting with. She quieted down quickly and turned towards the stage as the first speaker was coming out. Most of the speeches were boring to Daryl and he waited impatiently for RickyJo to come out and for the whole thing to be over. Clearly being a scientist did not make you a good public speaker. Finally the man who was repeatedly clearing his throat between each sentence got done and RickyJo came out. A few loud cheers and whoops came from a table full of young women towards the back of the large room. Then some people started clapping. It was starting to dawn on Daryl that many of the people in this room had come here specifically to meet her and hear her give this talk.

Daryl was expecting her to start talking about tomatoes or seeds of whatever boring shit she did locked up in her lab at the university. Instead she started talking about women. How their brains worked differently from men and how they needed more of them in the science field. She gave some numbers and statistics about how her scholarship program was changing the field of science in the state of Georgia. Daryl heard some more cheering. He knew she gave money to people for school sometimes, but he had not known how impactful it was. He knew now that RickyJo had a whole other side to her life. One that didn't involve him. This was a part of her he had never seen before. She explained the program she had started and how one aspect of it was that all the girls who took scholarship money had to agree to be part of a mentoring program that went to high schools and middle schools and encouraged girls to get excited about science.

"..This year we have accepted our first scholarship student that was mentored by a previous student." This brought on another round of cheers from the back table and several other tables. Now she was talking about how people could get involved in her mentoring program. When she got done, there was a lot of loud yelling and clapping. Much more than for the other speakers. She must have been the last one to talk since the man who had introduced everyone was back up giving a little closing speech. Daryl felt her hand on his back as she took her seat back next to him and reached over to gulp the rest of her wine.

"God damn I was so nervous my hand were shaking the whole time," she whispered. The blonde girl leaned across and told her she thought she had done great.

"I would love to get involved in your program," the girl told her. RickyJo smiled from ear to ear. That was the exact response she had been hoping for from everyone in the room. The party moved from the dining hall over to a large reception room. RickyJo held tight to Daryl with one hand and held her wine glass in the other. Daryl was a little overwhelmed. It seemed like everyone in the place was waiting to talk to RickyJo, and some people were asking to take pictures with her. People kept asking Daryl if he was a scientist too, which made him laugh the first few times but then started to creep him out. RickyJo explained that women only made up a small percentage of the scientific community and that 95% of them were married to other scientists.

Some of the men were polite, but as they got drunker, they got more blatant with their interest in RickyJo. She seemed oblivious, but to Daryl it was clear that a scholarship program was not what they were looking for. An older man came up that she seemed to know. He had been a professor at the college in Georgia where she had gotten her first degree and he remembered her well. The gossip around town was that she was a lesbian, but seeing her here with a man made him hopeful. He tried to lure her away from her escort for a more private conversation but when that didn't work he just started hitting on her in front of her date. RickyJo felt Daryl tense up. The last thing she needed was for him to go crazy and punch this guy out.

"I am not feeling so well," she said loudly, "I think its time for me to go." Then she grabbed Daryl and pulled him away towards the door. A few of the people running the place came to say goodbyes and thank her for coming. She made the converstions as fast as good manners would allow and they took of for the elevator. Once they were safely inside she started laughing.

"I thought you were about to punch him out," she said.

"That's cause I was," Daryl announced. This made her laugh harder. She was quite drunk and also a little high from how well the evening had gone. Leaning back against the wall of the elevator she looked Daryl up and down. Some girls liked guys shirtless in tight jeans, and some liked them in uniform. She never noticed before but she guessed she liked them in a suit.

"You know you look good all dressed up," she told him. He gave a little grunt. "Sexy," she added. Now she had his attention. She was leaning against the wall, biting her lower lip. The look she was giving him was one he had not seen from her before. He had seen it from other girls. It was a come fuck me look. He closed the distance between them and put his hands on the wall on either side of her, leaning close but not close enough to touch her yet.

"Sexy, huh?," he asked. She gave a little mmmhhh noise. Then she raised her eyebrows at him suggestively. "You playing some kind of game with me girly?," he asked. She shook her head. The elevator made a startling little ding and the doors opened, letting them off on their floor. Daryl moved out first, holding the door open for her and then followed her down to their room. He liked the way her dress hugged her curves as she walked. She used the little plastic card to get into the room and then they were standing inside the door staring at each other.

RickyJo leaned in and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek, then walked over to take her shoes off and set her purse down. She knew she wanted something more than a kiss, but she wasn't sure how to go about getting it. Daryl had kicked his shoes off but he was still standing by the door staring at her. He wanted her, but he was also nervous. The few times they had gotten close to having sex she had freaked out and made him stop. He would be happy to go along with anything she wanted to do, but he was scared he might not be able to stop once they got going.

She moved closer to him slowly, giving him time to back off if he didn't want her there. Then she put her ams around his waist and tipped her chin up to kiss him. When he kissed her back he felt her body press against him.

"I'm ready," she said quietly into his ear. He pulled back from her a little so he could see her face.

"Ready for what?," he asked. Daryl had a feeling he knew what she meant but he wanted to be sure. RickyJo looked down, the color rising in her cheeks. If you can do it, you can say it, she told herself. She also understood he needed to hear her to say it before he could go any further.

"Ready for you," she said. She trying to think of something smart and sexy she could say and drawing a complete blank. Finally she looked up at him and simply said, "I want you inside me." That was all he needed to hear and his mouth was on hers, kissing her hard and pulling her across the room towards the bed. When they got there, she pushed him down and stepped back, unfastening her dress and slipping it down and dropping it on the floor in a puddle. The dress was backless and so she wasn't wearing a bra, just wispy little panties that she pushed down and stepped out of.

"You going to get naked or do you need a written invitation," she asked him. Daryl became aware that he was just sitting there on the bed staring at her. He stood up and started yanking at his stupid dress clothes, whipping the jacket off and tugging at the buttons on his shirt. RickyJo took his hands and pushed them down, moving to unbutton the shirt herself before he ruined it by ripping the buttons off. He touched her lightly, stroking her hips and stomach. She got the last button undone and he pulled the shirt off and then yanked his undershirt over his head. This was an awkward moment for him with most girls, since he knew once he took his shirt off they would see his scars. RickyJo already knew they were there so he didn't have to worry. He unzipped his pants and shoved them down roughly along with his boxers. Then he sat down and took his socks off.

He caught RickyJo around the waist and pulled her down onto the bed with him, kissing her and holding her close to him. She pushed him onto his back and leaned over, kissing him on the mouth and moving down to kiss his neck and stomach. He was torn between wanting to take his time and wanting to hurry up and get it on before she changed her mind. For now he lay back, willing himself to relax and let her do whatever she wanted to do to him. She had seen him most of the way undressed before but had never touched him. His body was hard and much hairier than a woman's body but so far she liked it. RickyJo had never been with a man but she guessed they liked about the same things that women liked. She also wanted a chance to make herself a little more familiar with a certain part of his body before she let him put it inside her.

Starting at his knee, she kissed and rubbed slowly up the inside of his thigh, stopping at his hip and moving to the other side. When she got up to his hip this time she moved her mouth over, taking one of his balls into her mouth and sucking it gently then doing the same to the other one. She flicked her tounge over the sensitive spot behind them and then ran it up the back of his dick. Honestly, she had not really been sure what to do with any of Daryl's various man parts but from the noises he was making she knew what she was doing must be alright. She gave the tip of him a little kiss and took him into her mouth. She was wondering how much of it she should be trying to get into her mouth when she felt herself grabbed and pulled gently up the bed so that her head rested on his chest.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him with some concern, "did I hurt you?" He held her tightly to him and tried to get himself under control. The truth was he had pulled her off because he was about to shoot his shit.

"No I just don't want to come yet baby," he told her. She wasn't sure why he didn't want to come, maybe guys could only get off once. How sad for them if that was true, she thought.

"You liked it?," she asked. He laughed and pushed her over onto her back so he could get on top of her and kiss her.

"I liked it too much," he said, kissing behind her ear and down her neck. Behind the ear must be her sweet spot since she moaned a little, pulling him closer. He moved down and kissed her breasts, tasting her skin. Daryl had touched them a few times, but he had never gotten his mouth on her before. They were full and soft and they smelled like soap and tasted like heaven. She had her arms up over her head now, grasping the top of the pillow she was laying on. Her eyes were closed and she was biting down on her lip again, waiting for him to take her nipples into his mouth. He blew on the first on, then took it into his mouth sucking hard. When he went for the other breast he felt a shudder rip through her body and she arched her back. She was moaning and taking short little gasping breaths.

For a second Daryl thought he might be hurting her, but then he thought maybe she was climaxing. He had never seen a girl do that before just from getting her titties sucked. He wanted to be inside her but he was worried. This was her first time and he wanted to make sure she liked it, because of that and especially because he knew if she didn't like it she probably wasn't going to let him do it to her again. Taking a second to calm himself he moved down, kissing her stomach and hips. The little star tattoos she had down there were sexy. Plenty of times he had rubbed one out thinking about kissing them and now he was doing it. She opened her legs for him, not feeling nervous now. This was the kind of sex she was used to. When he put his mouth on her, the little tickle of his facial hair made her gasp. That she wasn't so familiar with.

"Are you okay," he asked her. She had jumped a little and made little yelp noise. RickyJo smiled at him.

"Your beard tickles," she told him with a soft little laugh. He laughed a little too, feeling relieved that nothing was really wrong. Daryl leaned in and rubbed his facial hair on her thighs and hips, making her giggle more. Then she felt his mouth on her and she wasn't feeling like laughing anymore. He moved his tounge back and forth across the little nub above her opening until he felt her hips start to move. Then he slid his fingers inside her. She was wet and he guessed he had been right about her coming before when he had been sucking her breasts. Sliding his fingers into her, he thrust hard a few times before he felt her release again. This time he was sure she was orgasming. He felt the sudden rush of warmth as her muscles clenched around his fingers.

Moving up, he got on top of her. She caught his head and pulled him down to kiss him. There was nothing sexier to her than when she could taste herself on someone's mouth when she was kissing them. RickyJo felt Daryl's hand between them and then he was pushing inside her. Her cousin had told her a long time ago that the first time would hurt. Whoever Jessica had sex with must have been doing it wrong because this didn't hurt at all. It was a new sensation for her, but it wasn't painful. And she liked how close Daryl was to her, almost like they were one person. She kissed him until he had to pull away and gasp for air. Now he was pushing in harder and faster, rubbing against a spot deep inside her that she didn't know was there until now. Her hips were rocking in time with his movements and when he came she came with him, crying out and digging her nails into his arms. He pushed in a few times, then withdrew and lay down next to her to catch his breath. RickyJo felt a sudden wetness between her legs, she assumed it was whatever he had shot into her leaking back out. Other then that she felt amazing. Shifting her weight, she pulled the sheets back and climbed under them. Daryl followed her example and snuggled in close. He liked the feel of her skin against his. RickyJo had soft smooth skin and she always smelled so good. As he lay there, thinking about what they had done, a rouge thought crossed his mind.

"Do you think we should have used something?," he asked her.

"No," she told him, reaching behind her to fondle him a little, "I think the equipment you have is more than enough." It took him a minute to understand what she was talking about. Then he turned and started laughing into the pillow.

"Not a dildo you fucking pervert," he told her, "a condom so you don't get pregnant." Now she was laughing.

"Can you get pregnant from only having sex one time?," she asked. Some thoughts and wishes she had shoved down deep inside her were starting to bubble back up to the surface. Ever since Jessica had her girls, RickyJo had wanted a baby of her own. She had never told anyone or even really admitted it to herself. But now she was letting herself get excited. Not too excited, just a little bit. There was nothing more she wanted in the world than to have a family of her own, and no one she wanted to have it with more than Daryl.

"I don't know," he said, "I guess you could." Instead of being worried, he could hear an undertone of excitement to her voice when she had asked him that. That made him start thinking about it. Maybe they didn't need to worry about using protection. RickyJo had more money than god so its not like they couldn't afford a baby. And he loved her to peices. She turned to face him and then she was kissing him all over his face, bubbling over with all the happiness she felt inside. He pulled her against his chest and they both fell asleep that way, each of them thinking their own thoughts about the future and the possibilities it now held.


	23. Chapter 23

Present Day

Shane was outside with Rick when Sammie came running out from inside the prison. She looked scared. RickyJo was inside packing up to leave. Shane took off running. He would lock her inside a cell if he had to in order to keep her and the babies safe but he hoped it would not come to that. When he got to her cell he saw Sammie had been right. RickyJo had her baby strapped to her chest and she was stuffing bottles of water and cloth diapers into a backpack. She saw Shane and prompty ignored him. There was a pocket on the side of her pack she kept her arrows in and she was packing it full. Shane saw she already had her gun and knife strapped to her leg. He was worried this was not going to go well.

"I can't let you leave," he said as gently as he could.

"Not leaving," she anwsered, "Just going to get Daryl and Merle and then I am coming back." She continued packing and swung the bag up onto her back. Then she picked up her bow and turned to Shane. "Get out of my way," she told him. He tried to reason with her. It just wasn't safe for her to go out there, especially with the baby. In her opinion, he should have thought about that before they refused to let Merle come back to the prison. She said nothing, just pulled her gun out and stuck in his face. He backed up. She walked quickly towards the outer door and Shane went to follow her, but Hershel pulled him back with his hand on his arm.

"The doors to the cellblock are all locked," Hershel told him, "she doesn't have a key." Shane turned to look at the man. Hershel shrugged his shoulders. There was no good choice to make here. Keeping RickyJo safe at the prison against her will was simply the lesser of two evils. As soon as he heard Daryl had left, Hershel knew she was going to try and take off. RickyJo was tough, but she was never going to make it out there alone with a baby. And he had a sneaking suspicion that if they kept her here, Daryl would be back sooner rather than later.

By this time RickyJo had realized she was locked in the cell block and she was screaming and hollering about it. Michonne sympathized with her, since she had recently been made to stay somewhere she didn't want to be. But she knew that unlike the people in Woodbury, these people were doing it for the right reasons. They would not be able to keep her here forever but they could keep the doors locked until she calmed down. And no one was going to try and hunt her down to kill her if she left. They worst they would do is follow her and try to talk her into coming back. Hershel walked over to her. The baby started crying and she pulled her shirt down to feed him.

"You make them let me out now," she told Hershel. He could see she was angry, but there was a lot of pain behind her anger. Her eyes were wet with tears that she was wiping away with the back of her hand.

"What about Judith?," Hershel asked her. He hated to use guilt as a tactic but he felt this situation needed to be resolved as quickly as possible. "You know you are the only mother she knows," he reminded her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "please just let me out. I have to leave." Her tears were spilling down over her cheeks now.

"What if you take MJ out there and he gets hurt or killed?," he asked her more gently. With that she dropped her bow and collapsed on the floor, rocking her baby and letting her tears fall down on his tiny milk scented head. Shane even felt himself choking up a little. RickyJo had been so tough for so long. Watching her cry was like watching your dad cry. It was just horrible. He walked over and took her arm, helping her up off the floor and then taking her bag from her shoulders and picking up her bow for her. He led her back to her room with his hand around her waist, telling her what he thought she needed to hear. That he was going to take care of her and the babies, that she didn't need to worry. When she walked in, MJ was fast asleep against her breast and she lay him down carefully on the bed. Then she reached in a picked up little Judith. She held the baby tightly to her chest, feeling more terrible than she had ever felt in her life. RickyJo could not believe she had been ready to abandon the sweet little girl so quickly. In truth, she loved her just as much as she loved her own baby. Shane put his arms around them and hugged them both. Michonne was smiling in at them from the doorway.

"You done trying to leave?," she asked, "because I need the door unlocked so I can go out and pee." RickyJo smiled back and nodded. She wasn't going anywhere. Michonne was kind of a strange bird, but RickyJo liked her. Shane had not been too sure about the woman but he had learned to trust RickyJo's intuition when it came to people. There was always a first time for everything, but she hadn't been wrong yet.

Hershel came in to check on RickyJo. He was happy to see she was holding Judith and nursing her. She closed the few steps between them and hugged the man, kissing him on the cheek.

"You know you have plenty of people here that care about you," he reminded her. For her sake he hoped Daryl would come back, but if he didn't Hershel wanted her to know she still had family here. She thanked him and he headed out. Rick and Beth were going outside the fence to try and hook up some kind of water line and Hershel was going to supervise. If the governor came back they didn't want to be stuck inside with no water. Michonne came back in and sat on the bed, rubbing MJ's little back while she talked to RickyJo. They were chatting a little about where they went to school and the jobs they had before the turn. It felt nice to have a normal conversation for once. Sammie was hanging around in the doorway listening. RickyJo was her favorite person here and she wanted to make sure she wasn't going to try and leave again.

Suddenly there were some loud gunshots coming from outside and then a huge crash. The girls were up and at high alert. Michonne picked up MJ and RickyJo grabbed Judith. They put them safely in the playpen and then shut the door to the cell and ran for outside. When they hit the door all chaos had broken out in the yard. The gate was smashed down and there were walkers everywhere. Men were shooting in at them from the woods and one of them was even sniping at them from their own guard tower. Most people were taking up defensive positions, but Hershel was down in the grass by the fence surrounded by walkers.

"You get Hershel," RickyJo told Michonne, "I am going for that sniper." Michonne nodded and they both rushed down the steps. RickyJo ran fast and hard for the guard tower, her handgun in one hand and a knife in the other. She hit the door with her shoulder, knocking it open and took off up the stairs. Before the sniper knew what him him she had put two in his chest and stabbed him in the head for good measure. Now she grabbed the rifle he had been using and started firing at the men outside the gates. She got a good headshot on one of them, a tall black man, and she watched him fall where he stood. This seemed to be enough to scare the rest of them, because they all leaped into the big truck they were driving and took off.

The governor was driving. Everything had been going well. Then a crazy blonde woman had plugged his sniper and killed Shumpert. That woman had come out of nowhere and run faster than anyone he had ever seen. She had been a damn good shot too.

"Who in the fuck was that," he asked Martinez.

"I would say from all the tattoos, that was Merle's lady friend," he said. The governor looked at him in disbelief. He had heard about a brother, but this was the first he had heard about a girlfriend.

"Merle had a girlfriend?," he asked. Martinez shrugged.

"Thats what he said," he told the man, "said she had killer tits and blonde hair and a ton of tattoos. That must have been her."

"Thats interesting," the governor told the man, "very interesting."

Daryl and Merle had gotten back just in time. Beth and Rick had been out of bullets and pinned against the fence by walkers. They both would have died if the brothers hadn't helped them. Daryl was walking back into the yard of the prison when a clump of dirt hit him hard in the chest and exploded up into his face. He grabbed his bow, thinking at first that they must be under attack again. Then a second one hit him in the leg and he saw RickyJo groping on the ground for another missle. She was yelling and cursing him, throwing anything at him that she could find. He ducked a rock and then stepped to the side to avoid a large muddy clump of grass.

Merle cleared back and out of the line of fire, just watching her go. And to think he hadn't wanted to come back here. This was the best entertainment he had seen all year. RickyJo was looking madder than a damn hornet, and throwing shit at his brother, who was trying to reason with her.

"Sorry," she raged, "you take off and tell them to tell me sorry. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO BE FUCKING SORRY!" Daryl was edging in closer and finally her grabbed ahold of her. He just wanted her to stop throwing shit and calm down for a minute so he could talk to her. She spit in his face and then kicked him hard in the shin, shoving him away from her. He fell backwards and landed on his butt in the grass. She stood over him, pointing her finger in his face a yelling, "YOU ARE NEVER EVER GOING TO TOUCH ME EVER AGAIN!" Then she turned on her heel and took off for the building, tripping on a stick and almost falling as she ran. From where he sat, using his shirt to wipe the spit off his face, Daryl could hear his brother laughing.

"You were right Daryl," Merle told him, "coming back here was a fucking great idea." Merle walked over and offered his brother a hand to get up but of course Daryl smacked it away. He got up on his own, rubbing at his shin. One hell of a bruise was going to well up there come tomorrow. He headed inside after RickyJo.

Now she had the curtain open, throwing everything in the cell that belonged to Daryl out into the hall. One of the babies was inside screaming. People were standing around, unsure of what to do, with mixed expressions of concern and amusement on their faces. Once she was sure everything of Daryl's was out in the hall, RickyJo ripped the curtain shut and a few seconds later the crying stopped. Carl bent down and started helping Daryl pick up his stuff. He didn't have much but there had been a big container of arrows in the room that she had dumped on the floor and kicked, scattering them everywhere.

Merle stepped over the mess and pushed the curtain out of his way, stepping into the cell with RickyJo and letting the sheet fall closed behind him. She was sitting cross legged on the floor on a mattress with a baby held to her breast. Her eyes were shut and she was leaning back against the wall, patting the baby softly on the back and rocking it. The baby had bright red hair that reminded Merle immediately of Jessica. She was the only person he had ever met with hair that color. RickyJo heard him there and opened her eyes, then rolled them when she saw it was him.

"I suppose you want to see your son since you don't have anything better to do," she said. He stepped a little closer. She still seemed angry, but at least nothing had been launched at his head yet.

"You had a boy?," he asked. That took the last of the anger out of RickyJo and she instantaneously felt terrible for Merle.

"No one even bothered to tell you, did they?," she asked. He shook his head. She motioned him to come over and sit down across from her. Merle noticed that there was another baby in the playpen next to her.

"You have twins?," he asked.

"No," she said sadly, "thats Lori's baby. She died having her. Now I take care of her. We kind of made that deal back when we were both pregnant." Merle nodded his understanding. He lowered himself down onto the mattress and tried to get a look at the small bundle in RickyJo's arms. She handed Merle a baby blanket to cover up the metal sleeve he had on his arm. Whatever that thing was it looked hard. She pressed her knuckle gently against her baby's mouth to break the suction and took him off her breast, handing him to Merle. MJ tolerated the women at the prison holding him occasionally but when Daryl or Shane tried to hold him, he screamed like he was being axe murdered. RickyJo figured he would do the same to Merle and was prepared to snatch him right back before he could wake Judith. To her shock, the baby just lay there calm as can be, staring up at Merle, who was looking down at him.

"He looks just like Daryl did when he was a baby," Merle told her, giving her a meaningful glance. RickyJo laughed.

"If there was any chance in hell that was Daryl's baby," she said, "don't you think thats the story I would be sticking with." This made Merle smile. He guessed she was right. RickyJo had nothing to gain by saying the baby was his. She may be many things, but she wasn't Jessica. It was crazy how much the baby resembled his brother though, the little guy looked just like Daryl except for the hair. "When he gets angry he looks like you," she said with a soft smile. The baby started to fuss a little and root around for something to eat so RickyJo took him back and offered him her breast. He smacked at it with his little hand and then grabbed on, pinching her and making her wince.

"Your tiny killer there got a name?," Merle asked her. That made her laugh again.

"Daryl named him after you," she said with a sarcastic grin, "a decision I am sure he is regretting right about now. We call him MJ."

"His name is really Merle, same as me?," Merle asked. That made him happy. He guessed Daryl must have thought he was gone for good when he picked that name but he liked it all the same. RickyJo couldn't help but smile at the way Merle was leaning over to get another look at his small son. She guessed he was probably scoping on her tits at the same time but figured she didn't really care.

Outside the cell, Shane was starting to get anxious. It was quiet inside there, but he still didn't like Daryl's brother alone in there with RickyJo and the babies, even if one of them technically belonged to the man. He wanted to go in there and check on them, but Hershel had already warned everyone to leave her alone. Sammie noticed Shane was pacing around and she offered to go in and take RickyJo some water. When she came back she let Shane know nothing was going on. They were just sitting on the floor talking to each other. This seemed to satisfy him for the time being and he set off to help everyone try to make the prison more secure.

By this time MJ was done eating and RickyJo handed him back to Merle and stood to pick up Judith. Merle looked her body up and down. Except for her tits, she looked much skinnier than he remembered. He had been checking her out any chance he got for the last ten years and this was the skinniest he had ever seen her look. A sudden pang of anger rose up inside him for these people, who acted all high and mighty but clearly were not making sure a nursing mother got enough to eat. Daryl sure hadn't looked like he had been missing any meals. The little girl that had brought the water was hanging around in the doorway again and Merle called her in and handed her the baby. He set off without a word, leaving RickyJo wondering where the fire was.

Merle passed the people that were milling around inside the cell block. He knew who he was looking for. That idiot cop. Not the idiot cop that had cuffed him to the roof, but the other one. He found the man outside, leaning wooden pallets up against the fence. Fucking waste of time is what that was, those things were never going to stop the kind of guns the governor had. Merle decided not to bring that up for the moment, he had other business with this man. Shane saw him coming and stood up, fingering his gun.

"RickyJo been feeding the brat you got in there," Merle announced. Shane nodded. He wasn't sure if it was a question but guessed he would answer anyway.

"Yes she does," Shane said. Merle leaned in closer to him. The man had a way of getting up in your personal space that was just uncomfortable.

"Well have you noticed that she is fucking starving to death?," Merle hissed at the man. Shane took his hand back off his gun. He had noticed, and Hershel had brought it up with him. The truth was they just didn't have enough food. He was curious now where Merle was going with this but he had an idea.

"You know where we can get some food?," Shane asked. Merle nodded, backing out of the man's face.

"Fore I show you we are making a deal," he told Shane, "you assholes can have half to do whatever you want with, but the other half is going in RickyJo's room so she can have enough to eat." Shane had no problem with this deal. He actually thought it was a good idea, and he knew Hershel would back them up. Now they just had to go get the food. Merle explained that they rationed the food in Woodbury. If people didn't know how much there really was, it was easier to get them to cooperate with the rations. So a lot of the extra food was stored outside the gates in locked sheds. There were a few over by the walkers pits they could clear out without even risking being seen.

The day had been long and RickyJo was tired. She had lay down with MJ to nurse him and had fallen asleep. She was woken up by some shuffling commotion in her cell and sat up to see Shane was putting a large box of food in the corner of the room. Tiny followed in behind him with another box, setting it on top of the first one.

"Can't you guys put that food somewhere else?," she asked. With all the baby stuff, the tiny room was already cramped. Merle answered her from the doorway.

"Its going in her because its yours," he told her, "and no one else better be eating out of it." He set his box down on top of the growing pile. "And you might want to button up," he suggested. She looked down and noticed her shirt was hanging open. No wonder Tiny had been staring at her. She tucked herself back in and grabbed MJ from the bed, heading out to see what the excitement was. There was a ton of food stacked up against the wall over by the area they used as the kitchen. And even more of it was being carried in. RickyJo rubbed her eyes and wondered for a minute if she was still asleep and dreaming this. Michonne walked past her into her room with another box. Last she heard every store in the area was cleaned out.

Daryl walked past her with a box and carried it into her room, eyeing her suspiciously. "Done throwing shit at me yet?," he asked her.

"I don't know," she told him, "hand me one of those cans of soup and find out." He took this to mean she wasn't mad anymore and came over to give her a kiss. Then he held his arms out for the baby. She handed MJ over and of course the little turkey began kicking and screaming straight away. Why he hated Daryl so much she had no idea, all the poor man did was love him and try to hold him. Merle walked past with a box that he quickly deposited inside RickyJo's cell. He came over and took the baby blanket that RickyJo had over her shoulder.

"Give 'im here," he told Daryl. Daryl shrugged and handed over the screaming infant to his brother. And wouldn't you know that little shit shut right up as soon as Merle was holding him. Daryl could not believe it. What a little traitor, he thought to himself. Of course RickyJo was smiling away at his brother now, like he had done something great. It all made Daryl just want to punch Merle right in his stupid face. He stole some food and now he was everyone's big hero and RickyJo was looking at him holding the baby like it was about to make her panties melt right off.

"Its like he knows you," RickyJo said. She was so delighted that MJ was finally letting someone else hold him, she didn't notice the scowl on Daryl's face. She wasn't thinking anything sexual or loving about Merle, but more like that she might be able to go take a pee or even wash up without the baby screaming his little head off.

"Of course he knows me," Merle announced. Then for Daryl's benefit he added, "I'm his father." With that Daryl turned and stormed off outside.

"Was that necessary?," RickyJo asked him.

"Whatever," Merle said, "Its the fucking truth." She supposed it was true, but that was no reason to rub it in Daryl's face. From how upset RickyJo had gotten over Daryl leaving, Merle had already guessed something more than friendship had been going on between them while he had been gone. Maybe they had even been fucking, though he hoped they hadn't been. The sooner Daryl understood this wasn't his family, the better off everyone would be.

On one hand, RickyJo was glad both men seemed so eager to help her with the baby. But on the other hand she didn't want this turning ugly between them. She felt stuck in a situation that she wasn't quite sure how to handle. After she found his hand on the roof, RickyJo had given Merle up for dead. Daryl had been the one that had taken care of her while she was pregnant. She had told him he was going to be able to raise the baby as his son. Now that Merle was back she wasn't sure what to do. Its not like he had left on purpose. And this was his baby. If he wanted to see him or hold him, she thought he ought to be able to. It was also clear that the two of them were more than willing to turn this into some kind of pissing contest which made her angry. She was not a prize to be won and neither was MJ. RickyJo decided she would try and talk to Hershel later. The man always gave good advice. For now they had bigger problems to worry about besides who her baby was going to call daddy.


	24. Chapter 24

3 Months Before the Outbreak

Merle rode up to the campsite with his gear tied down to the back of his bike. When he spotted Jessica's camper he pulled in. Jessica was sitting at a picinic table, eating lunch with her daughters. She got up and came over to give him a hug. RickyJo heard the bike and came around from the side of the camper where she had been laying in a pool chair reading a book.

"Let me guess," she said, "Daryl isn't coming." Merle nodded. She had a big pair of sunglasses on so it was hard to gauge her expression. By the way she was standing, Merle guessed she was not impressed. She turned and headed quickly inside the camper, letting the door smack slap shut behind her.

"He is really not coming at all," Jessica asked. Merle nodded again. "That little fucking bastard," Jessica added. Daryl and RickyJo had both been acting strange ever since they had got back from vacation. RickyJo had been spending all her time at work, and when she had been home, she had been in her room with the door shut. And Daryl had been acting like a moody little bastard. Merle had been relieved he hadn't wanted to come camping so he could get away from him.

"What in the fuck is going on?," he asked Jessica. He had not been able to get anything out of Daryl except grunts and a lot of swear words. The only explanation he had been able to come up with was that something bad had happened between then in Mexico. Maybe Daryl had gotten too drunk and forced himself on her or one of them had caught the other one in bed with someone else.

"Daryl say anything to you?," Jessica asked. He shook his head.

"Fucker won't say shit if he had a mouthful," he said, "he been acting like a fucking asshole. You know whats going on or what." Merle liked RickyJo. He wished his stupid ass brother would pony up and apologize for whatever he had done so everything could go back to normal. Daryl could be a stubborn little shit when he wanted to be. Jessica nodded. She had gotten RickyJo drunk on cheap wine and then coaxed the story out of her.

The girls were finished with lunch and they ran over to hug Merle and then took off for the playground. Jessica gave a stern warning to her older daughter that she better watch the little one. Then she grabbed a few beers and they sat down in the camping chairs. She was worried about her cousin. The last time she had seen RickyJo this upset was when they had found out that Nana had cancer. She started telling Merle what she knew.

When she had gotten there, RickyJo had been acting strange. She had said she wasn't feeling well but Jessica could tell something else was wrong. Her guess had been that there was a problem with Laney again, but RickyJo hadn't seemed upset when she asked her about the woman. She had also been surprised to find RickyJo camping alone. Daryl almost always came with her. When she asked where he was, he cousin had become visibly upset. She had refused to say what was going on and insisted that he was too busy working. That night Jesscia had made a little campfire and they had all made smores and then she had sent the girls to bed and opened the wine. Halfway through the second bottle, RickyJo had spilled her guts.

That morning she woke up with her head on Daryl's chest, feeling wonderful. They had kissed and ordered breakfast. Everything had seemed to be going so well and she was wondering if it was too soon to see if he wanted to move his stuff into her room when they got back. He had gone to take a shower. While he was in there, she had powered on her phone so she could text Merle and remind him to come get them from the airport. There were hundreds of calls and texts from Laney. So many long texts she didn't want to take the time to read them. The phone rang and she had answered it. She knew Laney wouldn't stop until she talked to her. The woman had been hysterical. Not wanting to do something so intense over the phone she promised to talk to her when she got back. Daryl had come out of the shower and asked her who she was talking to. She had lied and told him it was Jessica, mostly because she didn't want to spoil the mood and she didn't want him to worry that she might be getting back with Laney because she wasn't.

She had gone to take a shower and when she came out Daryl had been acting strange. When she tried to touch him he had yanked away from her. Then he had said some horrible things to her. The kind of things he could never take back. That he didn't care about her that way and that the night before had not meant anything to him. _What did you think we were going to live happily ever after just because you opened your legs for me? You are nothing but a stupid little girl. Go back to fucking your little bitch girlfriend and leave me alone._ He had turned his back on her and headed out to the porch for a smoke so he had not seen the look on her face. If he had seen how hurt she was he would have instantly regretted his words. By the time he had come back in, she had herself under control. She wasn't going to let him see her cry.

They had flown back home in silence. When they got back RickyJo had been so lonely and sad that she had even tried to make up with Laney. But when she told Laney the truth about what happened between her and Daryl, Laney had snapped on her. After that she had gotten out of any obligations she had at work and decided to go camping for the summer.

"You know she came home late at night a few days after Mexico with a big red mark on her face," Merle said.

"Yeah," Jessica said, "she said Laney slapped her." While she wasn't happy about what Laney had done, Jessica was so much angrier with Daryl. She had it in mind to call that little asshole and have a talk with him herself. Just imagine saving yourself for all that time and then having a guy treat you like that after. Jessica had a lot of guys do a lot of shitty stuff to her, but none of them had ever made her feel that bad.

"So they fucked," Merle said, "she seemed so upset I thought maybe Daryl had done something to her. You know something she didn't want him to do." Jessica shook her head.

"No she said that part was nice," Jess said, "it was after that he was being mean." Merle leaned back and sipped on his beer. He wondered what had gotten into his brother. Maybe he had just freaked out. "Anyway, I got to get the girls back, and I don't want to leave RickyJo here like this. She is refusing to come back home. I thought you could stay here with her a while," Jessica explained. Merle thought this over. Actually, camping with RickyJo sounded alright, even if she was sad.

"I can stay," he said. Jessica gave him a smile and reached over to squeeze his hand.

It took about a week before RickyJo stopped moping around. She had just wanted to be alone. Reading, sleeping and laying around in the sun listening to her Ipod was all she wanted to do and she didn't need any company for that. Several times she had suggested not so politely to Merle that he ought to go home or go stay with Jessica. It was obvious now that he wasn't going anywhere no matter how rude she was to him, so she gave up and decided she might as well enjoy his company.

He was frying up some fish they had caught earlier in a big cast iron skillet over the fire when he felt RickyJo set her hand on his back. He stood up and was taken aback for a minute when he felt her arms wrap around him.

"I really need a hug," she told him. This made him smile and he squeezed her so tight so could barely breathe. He had known she would come around if he waited her out. RickyJo wasn't like regular girls that screamed and threw fits. He had seen it many times over the years, when she got upset she shut down and closed everyone out. In a strange way he understood it. He didn't like anyone getting too close to him either. "Merle," she mumbled into his neck, "I can't breathe." He laughed.

"I thought you wanted a hug?," he asked, squeezing her one more good time before he let her go. When he did he saw she was finally smiling. "Are you fucking smiling?," he asked, "be careful it don't break your damn face." This made her laugh, a welcome sound for both of them. She looked down at her boots, kicking the dirt at her feet and shifting her weight around.

"Merle?," she asked, "did Daryl say anything to you about me?"

"Nah, he didn't say shit," Merle told her. It was on the tip of his tounge to say what he really thought about Daryl's behavior. That he was being a stupid little stubborn bastard. That if he didn't want to be with her it was his loss. He had been thinking about calling his brother and telling him to get his dumbass up here and make things right. But then he had decided to be selfish. Merle liked being with RickyJo. Why should he go out of his way to help Daryl get her when he would rather help himself. As far as he was concerned if Daryl was refusing to speak to her, that made her fair game.

RickyJo didn't say anything back, she just plopped back down in her camping chair and pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes. She was sick of crying over Daryl. RickyJo took a deep breath and pushed back up out of the chair and went into the tent to roll a joint. If she couldn't drink the feelings away she decided she would try and smoke herself stupid instead.

Merle was always up for any escape from reality, and twenty minutes later they were sitting around high, eating the fish he had cooked. He was glad to see RickyJo smiling again, even if it was just because she was stoned. She had been kicking around an idea in her head for a while now. It had seemed crazy to her at first, but was starting to sound better and better.

"I think I might not go back to work after the summer," she said, slouching down in her chair and resting her feet up on the cooler. Her hair was loose and hung over the back of the chair in long golden waves.

"Whatcha gone do instead?," Merle asked her. He always thought it was dumb that she worked anyway. Its not like she needed the money. "You going home to your Nana's?," he suggested.

"No," she said, "I think I might take the year off and go backpacking like I did that summer with Imani." She had the most wonderful time that summer. They had backpacked all through South America. Sometimes they had stayed at cheap hostels and a few times they had sprung for nice hotel rooms. Both girls had become fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. RickyJo was tired and confused. She needed a break from her life and a chance to find herself again. She wanted a fresh start.

"You not going to go by yourself?," Merle asked her. He had not liked when she had gone with Imani, even though Imani's brother had gone with them, but he liked the idea of RickyJo going alone even less.

"Why don't you go with me?," she asked him. Merle looked at her. His first thought was that she must be joking. She wasn't laughing.

"You for real?," he asked. She nodded at him.

"We don't have to go to South America," she added, "we can go to Europe instead."

"Amsterdam?," he asked, making her laugh.

"Wherever you want," she told him, " I really want to see Italy and France though. They have the best topless beaches there." She looked over at Merle. He seemed a little hesitant. She flipped her sunglasses up on top of her head and took his hand.

"What do you have to keep you here?," she asked. She had sounded excited before but now her voice was soft and sad. Merle knew this was the closest RickyJo would ever come to admitting how sad and alone she really felt. And in that moment she knew he felt the same way.

"Alright," he told her, "when are we leaving?"

"The end of the summer," she said. Now he knew she was really planning to do this if she knew when she wanted to leave. "I want to camp for the summer and leave in the fall," she said. She wanted to camp, but she also had some work and financial crap she would have to sort out before leaving on such an extended trip. "You want to stay and camp with me," she asked him.

"I dunno," he teased, "you going to stop pissing and moaning over my little brother all day long?" For some reason the question seemed easier since he hadn't said Daryl's name. She held up one hand and made a little motion with the other across her chest.

"Cross my heart," she promised. He thought he might push his luck a little further.

"You going to break me off a piece of that ass?," he asked her. She spit her beer out down the front of her and really started laughing. "You ought to try swallowing," he suggested. RickyJo tried to stop herself from laughing but she couldn't . She laughed so hard she tipped her chair over and fell in the dirt. Merle was sipping his beer and enjoying the show. When RickyJo got really high she was entertainment for everyone. Once he could tell she was winding down, he grabbed her arm and helped her back into her chair.

"You know," she told him, "you are such pig sometimes." He leaned in close making little oink noises into her ear. She pulled him in and kissed him on his head. He thought about making another joke but changed his mind. Instead he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I like to see you happy," he said.


	25. Chapter 25

1 Month Before the Outbreak

The sound of the motorcycle faded away but RickyJo waited until she couldn't hear it at all before she leaped up and started packing. She needed some time to herself to clear her head. Besides her confusing and conflicting feelings, she couldn't remember the last time she had spent the whole day sober. Merle could be overwhelming and she didn't want him pressing her into a relationship she wasn't ready for. She felt a little bad for ditching him like this but she needed some time alone to sort things out and figure out what she wanted.

RickyJo powered her phone on to check it. At first she had been checking it everyday to see if Daryl had called her yet. Now she was down to about once a week. Tossing it back in the passenger seat of her jeep, she grabbed her bags and tossed them in her little trailer than began yanking out the tent stakes. She didn't bother to take the tent all the way apart, since she was going to set it back up when she got where she was going. Poking around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything important she got in her jeep and took off. She intentionally pulled out in the opposite direction from where she was going and drove down to a busy lot where people parked to go swimming. Then she turned around and took a different road to head back up the mountain.

When she started to get close to where she was going she called her cousin. This time of the day she would be at work which was perfect since RickyJo just wanted to leave a message. _Hey Jess. I am going to take off for a while. You are not going to be able to get ahold of me but I just wanted you to know that I am fine. I love you and kiss the girls for me._ She hung up and turned her phone off. Jessica would worry anyway but at least now she would be less likely to have the police out looking for her. It had been hard to think of a place to go where no one would be able to find her. Finally she had remembered that really old hunting cabin that her grandfather had owned way before he had his nicer one over at the farm property. The place was totally run down but she could always stay in her tent. Jessica had never been there and neither had Merle. Daryl had been out there once but that had been at least five or six years ago. She had been thinking about selling the place and they had gone out to look at it. Now she was glad she never had any offers on it.

Parking around the back of the place, she went it, holding her arm up in front of her to get rid of the cobwebs. The place was dirty and a fat raccoon was sitting in the middle of the room, looking at her. She hung the door open and then walked around to shoo him out. The place was dusty and smelled strongly of animal but she could air it out. At least the roof wasn't leaking and the fireplace worked. After sweeping up a little, RickyJo brought her air mattress in and got set up. Then she went out on the porch and sat on the old rickety swing that was out there, putting her feet up. Now that she was alone she felt like she could finally breathe. By now she guessed that Merle had gone back to the other campsite and realized she was gone. He was going to be good and mad about it too. She figured he could sit around with Daryl and talk about what a crazy bitch she was and how much they both hated her.

RickyJo was still hurting over what happened with Daryl. She wasn't sure what she had done wrong, but he hadn't called her in months so it must have been pretty bad. Merle had been more than happy to tell her that no matter what happened, it must have been all Daryl's fault. It had made her feel really good, but she wasn't sure she believed him. He had also made it clear that if Daryl didn't want to step up and be a man, he would be more than happy to have her on his arm and in his bed. But Merle had a way sometimes of saying all the right things and then taking it all back later. RickyJo had seen him do it to her cousin time and time again and she wasn't sure she trusted him. He had seemed sincere about his feelings but it was hard to tell with him. She wasn't going to let him make a fool out of her. And RickyJo felt she needed to take Jessica's feelings into account. She knew they weren't really together but that didn't mean Jessica wouldn't be hurt.

It was all too much and the more she thought about it, the more RickyJo was glad she had gotten away to clear her head. If she had stayed and camped the rest of the summer with Merle she would have let him talk her into bed with him and then she would be even more confused. Or maybe that would have made it easier. She also knew she was still upset and part of her wanted to sleep with Merle to hurt Daryl. She didn't like that part of her. _This is why I date women._ Unable to sort anything out, RickyJo decided to go to sleep early. Maybe things would seem clearer in the morning.

 **** I had a question in a review about how RickyJo ended up camping alone so I hope that helped. As always thanks for the reviews and I own nothing from The Walking Dead. Also I wanted to warn everyone that there may be some sexual violence in an upcoming chapter. I will put a warning at the beginning of that chapter in case anyone wants to skip it. ****


	26. Chapter 26

Present Day

They had plenty of food to hold them for the time being, but they were still low on guns and ammuntition. Rick had gone on a run to try and find some. Michonne, Carl and Beth had gone with him. RickyJo was nervous about Beth going since the girl had a tendency to panic under pressure but Michonne had promised to keep a close eye on her. Carol and RickyJo were outside with the babies, holding them and looking down and the spot where they had planted the carrots and the summer squash. The walkers the governor had let in had trampled over the whole area. Everyone had been so excited when the little plants had started popping up. Watching them get ruined was just plain depressing.

Andrea had come to the prison after the attack. At first RickyJo had been excited to see her, she was a good shot and they could use all the help they could get. But she had not come to help them she had come to set up some kind of meeting with the governor. Merle had already told them they couldn't trust the man so RickyJo didn't see the point of anyone meeting with him unless they wanted to set up an ambush. Hershel was insisting on trying to negotiate first and he wanted to go to the meeting. He knew RickyJo and Shane were pushing to plan some kind of attack and they had a habit of going behind his back and doing whatever they wanted. If RickyJo wasn't tied down at the prison with the two babies, she would have already tried charming her way into Woodbury and killing the man herself. Now there was nothing she could do but wait around and it was driving her crazy.

"Better get those babies back inside," Daryl said from where he had walked up behind them, "Not safe out here." RickyJo sighed. At least she had gotten out for a few minutes. She thought about telling Daryl that Merle had said it was fine for her to go out when he had come in from watch duty. But she knew that would just start more trouble, so she kept quiet and trudged back inside. The babies needed to be put down for a nap anyway and she was thinking about taking one herself. MJ had kept her up half the night with his many baby demands and she was tired. Judith was already asleep so Carol put her down in the playpen. RickyJo layed down on the mattress she had on the floor with MJ so she could nurse him to sleep.

Merle was thinking about going to sleep himself when he saw RickyJo go into her room alone. He stood in the doorway watching her with the baby before he went in, making sure to close the curtain behind him. RickyJo heard someone come in but she thought it was just Shane coming to check on Judith or maybe Tiny sneaking food, which she told him he could do if no one saw him. She felt a gentle hand on her back and turned a little to see who it was.

"Can I lay down with you two?," Merle asked her. She knew he had been up most of the night on watch so he probably did just want to sleep. And she liked for someone to lay on the other side of the baby to make sure he didn't roll away and get stuck between the edge of the mattress and the wall. RickyJo moved back to give Merle some room, pulling the baby with her.

"Take that thing off your arm so you don't bump into the baby with it," she told him. RickyJo heard some rustling noises and then she felt Merle step over her and lay down next to the wall. He used the crook over his bad arm as a pillow and reached his hand over to rub his son's back. RickyJo yawned and scratched her head. She was wearing the bottom half of a prison jumpsuit that she had made into pants and a tank top that buttoned on the top half. She was feeding the baby, so it was hanging open. Everyone in the place saw her tits about a hundred times a day anyway so she didn't see any need to cover up now. She still looked too thin, but at least her face didn't look quite so gaunt now that she was getting enough to eat. Her was soft and shiny and spread out over the pillow. Merle had seen her and that little Sammie girl taking turns brushing each other's hair out the night before while that blonde girl was singing.

RickyJo's breathing was slow and rhythmic now and Merle could tell she was already asleep. He watched the baby, who was falling asleep and letting her nipple slide out of his mouth. That was waking him up and he would hurry to suck it back in again. How RickyJo could sleep with someone gnawing on her like that Merle had no idea. Finally the little guy gave in and passed out, his little mouth hanging open with some milk dribbling out of it onto the blanket they were laying on. Merle reached over and slid his hand around the baby, pulling him over to lay against his chest. The baby gave a little groan of protest but settled back down against Merle's warm chest. _Sorry little buddy you were blocking my view._ Merle wasn't going to mess with RickyJo. Number one she looked exhausted and number two there were way too many nosy people up and walking around. But it didn't hurt anyone for him to get a look at her. And she was looking good. She always had a great rack and that had not changed.

The curtain swung open and Daryl walked into the room. He had been coming in to get something and he was not happy about seeing his brother in bed with RickyJo. "Get the fuck out of there," Daryl mouthed at him. Merle held up his middle finger. He wasn't going anywhere. He knew Daryl wasn't going to be able to make him go without waking up both the babies and RickyJo. And if he woke them all up RickyJo would rip him a new asshole. Merle offered his brother up a big smile and then leaned down to kiss MJ on the head and rub his little back. Daryl turned in a huff and walked towards the doorway of the cell. Then he changed his mind and went back. He leaned down over RickyJo and pulled the front of her shirt together and then buttoned it all the way up. Then he gave Merle the finger and walked out, forgetting what he had come in there for in the first place.

Later that night, the group that had left to go on the run came back. They had scored with the guns and everyone was excited about it. RickyJo wanted to clear the yard out right away to see if they could salvage any of the planting they had done but Shane convinced her they should wait. There was no use clearing it out if there was still a chance the governor might come back an fill it up again. RickyJo sadly agreed he was right. It was just so discouraging to see all their hard work go to waste. Why couldn't that stupid man just leave them in peace. They had no interest in bothering him. Or better yet, why couldn't the few people left alive band together to fight the real enemy, the army of dead cannibals. She knew it was never going to happen but it was still annoying. This is why women should be in charge, she thought angrily to herself. Then we could just focus on rasing babies and growing daisies. If her and Andrea were leading the groups, they could have worked out their problems easily without any of this ridiculous macho posturing.

RickyJo was happy to have more ammo for her handgun and even a new hunting rifle, though what or who she would be hunting remained to be seen. She picked one out for Sammie, and told her she ought to go ask Merle for a lesson. Sammie was hesitant, she knew Merle was Daryl's brother but she had also seen Glen's face. She did want to learn to shoot. Her bow was great but it had a more limited range, which she had learned well when the governor had attacked them. If she had been as good with a rifle as she was with the bow, she could have shot his ass dead herself. And RickyJo was a good shot but she had told the girl Merle was much better. Sammie was nervous to go ask him by herself so she went and got Carl.

Merle was in his cell checking out his new guns when he noticed Sammie and that cop's kid were lingering in the doorway. What the hell did they want. Merle ignored them and went back to his guns, making sure they were all fully loaded and then loading the extra clips he had for them. Carl nudged Sammie forward. This was her idea. She cleared her throat loudly, making Merle look up at them again.

"What in the fuck do you kids want?," Merle asked them loudly. Carol was walking by and she stopped, throwing Merle a dirty look. Sammie looked ready to run so Carl elbowed her hard.

"Ri Ri RickyJo sa-said," she stammered.

"RickyJo said what," Merle demanded.

"She picked out this gun for me," Sammie finally spit out, "she said I should ask you for a lesson." Merle had plenty of time but none for a silly little girl who he doubted would be able to shoot a turkey from two feet away no matter who taught her.

"Why don't you piss off and go find a doll to play with," Merle suggested to her. Carol was less than impressed with his attitude. She knew Sammie was one of the best shots they had and even it if she wasn't, it wouldn't hurt Merle to spend a few minutes teaching her. And the way he had been sniffing around RickyJo and using the baby to get close to her was pissing Carol off. If he made any move to hurt anyone else here like he had hurt Glen, she would cut his throat while he slept. She walked over to Sammie and took her hand.

"He doesn't know what hes doing anyway," Carol announced loudly, "Come on and we will go get Daryl to help you." Sammie nodded and followed after her. Merle watched them walking away. Carol's comment had pissed him off. Who was that old bitch to say he didn't know what he was doing. And who in the fuck did she think taught Daryl everything he knew about guns. He leaped up and chased after them. Sammie stopped when she saw him coming.

"Where the fuck you going?," he asked the girl, "you want a lesson or not?" Sammie thought about it. After the nasty way he had talked to her she wasn't sure. Carl had no such hesitations.

"I want one," the boy said firmly. Sammie stared down at her boots.

"RickyJo said yer the best shot she ever saw," she told Merle. That made him smile. He knew he was a good shot but he still liked to hear it. Merle walked over and put his arm around the girl, resting his arm piece on her shoulders. She looked about ready to piss her pants but she held her ground.

"What else RickyJo been saying about me?," he asked her. Now she was smiling at little.

"You got a crush on her dontcha?," Sammie asked the man. Carl started laughing. He wasn't sure if it was even possible to have a crush on someone you already had a baby with but it was funny anyway. Merle stared down at the girl. He had no idea she was such a little smart ass. The more he thought about the simple childish way she had described the situation the funnier it was. Sammie relaxed when she saw he was smiling. He leaned down and spoke quietly into her ear.

"I'm a little old for crushes," he explained. Then he headed off down the hall towards the outside door, turning to holler at Sammie and Carl to hurry up. Carol watched the kids chase after him. She thought about following them out to supervise but decided she might send Shane out instead. The thought of Sammie alone with Merle just made her uneasy. The girl was just a little older than Sophia would be if she was still alive and Carol had tried not to get too close to her. But Sammie had lost a mother and Carol had lost a daughter. Despite Carol's initial reservations she had come to care deeply for the girl and she was scared for her with everything that was happening. Her first thoughts when Axel had been shot in front of her had been where was Sammie and was she okay.

Daryl was looking around for RickyJo. He was still mad at her for earlier but that didn't mean he wasn't worried about her. She was easily found, sitting in the room in a camping chair she had dragged in there. Judith was nursing and she had MJ on the floor. She had spread a blanket out down there for him to roll around on and he was on his belly looking at some plastic cups she had spread out in front of him. He was grabbing for them but everytime he touched one they moved further away from him and he was starting to get mad. Daryl came in and rolled him gently onto his back, handing him one of the cups. He waved it around wildly making his happy baby noises. RickyJo laughed at him. That kid was really something else. Then she smiled at Daryl. He was obviously still having a pout about the napping thing earlier.

"Nothing was going on," she told him for what seemed like the five thousandth time. Daryl thought about yelling at her. Its what he really wanted to do. Not because she had done anything wrong, but because he was mad at his brother and his brother wasn't here. And when he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he even had to be mad at Merle about. Instead of dying when he got his hand cut off, Merle had lived. It was hard to be mad at him for that. He had fallen for RickyJo and gotten her pregnant after Daryl had hurt her feelings, but it was hard to blame him for that. That had been mostly Daryl's own fault for being scared and stupid and stubborn. Well Daryl didn't care if it was his fault. He wasn't just going to bow out and let his brother take his woman. It struck him suddenly that being mad and mean to RickyJo might not be the best way to keep her.

RickyJo sat quietly, watching MJ play and waiting to see how Daryl was going to react. At first he looked like he wanted to yell at her and then he had gone quiet, leaning against the bed with his thinking face on. Then he came towards her and knelt down softly in front of her, taking her hand and pressing a kiss into her palm. She looked down at him with that soft special look she usually reserved for the babies. Daryl loved that soft expression, especially when it was directed towards him. He liked watching her with the babies too, when she would rock and sing to them with that dreamy look on her face. Daryl sat down and rested his head in her lap. She smoothed his hair back from his face and rubbed his neck and the soft spot behind his ear.

Judith was done and Daryl moved so RickyJo could lay her down next to MJ. Then she moved and sat down on the bed, motioning for Daryl to join her. He sat down, moving back so he could rest against the wall. RickyJo climbed over so she could sit in his lap and put her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. He was glad now that he hadn't started up fighting with her again. He was thinking he would like to do more than hold her, but Hershel had given Daryl a very strict warning that they were not to be having sex until she had healed up from giving birth. Because of that Daryl had been trying to keep his distance from her, and she had been missing him.

"This is the first time you have held me like this since before the baby," she whispered. She had been wondering if she had done something wrong or if maybe all the milk the baby feeding had turned him off. The last time they had a misunderstanding like this it had almost ruined their relationship forever so instead of assuming she had done something wrong, RickyJo decided she would ask him about it. "Did I do something wrong?," she asked, lifting her head so she could see his face.

"What do you mean?," he asked. He thought she was talking about what happened earlier with Merle.

"I mean you haven't come near me since MJ was born," she said, "Did I do something wrong?" She felt him hold her tighter and he pulled her head back down onto his shoulder, kissing her hair.

"Hershel gave me the business," he explained, "said I better not try and have sex with you until after you were healed up from having the baby." RickyJo laughed. She was glad she had asked, that was not what she had expected to hear.

"You know that doesn't mean you can't hold me or kiss me," she told him. She was nuzzling into his neck now, kissing him behind his ear.

"Its hard for me to do that without wanting to do the other thing," he admitted. She rolled onto her back, pulling Daryl down on top of her and kissing him. Just when they were getting into a little heavy kissing, MJ started screaming. He had dropped his cup and he wanted his mommy. Daryl rolled off her so she could get up and tend to the baby. She sat back in the camp chair so she could feed him. Now that the babies were getting bigger and heavier, the arm rests made her so much more comfortable when she was feeding them. Daryl rolled out of the bed, being careful not to step on little Judith and headed for the door.

"Where you going in such a hurry?," RickyJo asked him. She had been ready to do a little more kissing once this baby was done eating.

"Going to tell Shane he better find another room to sleep in tonight," Daryl told her.


	27. Chapter 27

Present Day

Beth was laying in bed with Rick trying to pretend she couldn't hear what was going on down the hall. RickyJo and Daryl must have made up after whatever argument they were having and now everyone knew it. Beth had seen them get in that crazy fight the other day when Daryl had come back with his brother. RickyJo had thrown things at Daryl and kicked him. They were so rough with each other.

"What the hell are they doing in there," she asked Rick. They had been trying to have a serious conversation before all the moaning started up. Part of it was the cement walls carried the noise, but the two of them had been loud even back when they had all been on the road together. Tdog used to yell at them to shut up. Too bad he wasn't here now.

"They are being a little noisy," Rick agreed. Beth looked at him like he was crazy. A little noisy? It sounded like someone was getting killed in there. Then she felt his hand slide up under her shirt. "You know we could give them a little competition," he teased. Beth's eyes flew open. She knew her dad knew she was sleeping in here but that didn't mean she wanted him to hear what she was doing. Beth was young and this had been her only sexual experience. She was still shy and embarrassed about most of the things they did, even though her sister had assured her that everyone did those things and it was all perfectly normal. Rick found her shyness endearing. After having his wife sleep around on him, he wasn't exactly looking for a sexually aggressive woman. Beth would never cheat on him or lie to him. And the shyness was part of her charm.

Rick was going with Hershel and Daryl tomorrow to meet with the horrible man who had attacked them and hurt Maggie. Beth wanted to talk to him more about it, but it was hard to think with Rick touching her. He was kissing her neck and pushing her shirt up so her could get his mouth on her nipples. She moaned softly before she could stop herself, making him laugh. Beth sat up a little so she could pull her shirt off over her head and she felt her pants being yanked down at the same time. Rick was happy to see she spread her legs for him eagerly now. At least she wasn't being shy about him looking at her anymore.

He leaned down and pressed a feather light kiss into the silky hair between her legs. She rocked her hips up, wanting more. Rick was thinking about obliging her but then he remembered he had something else in mind. gripping her thighs he flipped her over onto her stomach. She gasped, it had startled her a little and she wasn't used to being in this position. Then she felt his mouth on her, kissing her lower back and then moving down to bite gently at the undersides of her cheeks. He was rubbing her thighs, moving his fingers closer and closer to her opening. Beth had the sweetest tasting skin of anyone he had ever been with. And now she was moving her hips, arching her back and lifting her firm round backside up off the bed.

She felt his fingers slide into her from behind, checking to see if she was ready. And then he was on top of her. He told her to sit up a little and rest on her elbows, which she did. Now he could reach around her and fondle her small breasts, pinching at her nipples. He was pushing around between her legs until he found the right spot. Then he shoved hard and fast inside her, making her cry out. Beth was used to him starting off slow, and this was not slow. Rick was pumping in and out of her, finishing each movement with a hard thrust. His hands were gripping her breasts and he was biting at her neck and shoulders. She was getting loud now, making her little high pitched noises that she made when she got really excited. He shifted his weight so he could slide one hand under her hips. As soon as his finger rubbed against her clit she came, and she came hard. He yanked his hand out braced his weight on his arms, then really started pounding into her. The last few thrusts felt so good he almost lost it and came inside her. Instead he pulled out quickly and blew it all over her ass.

He flopped down on the bed next to her, exhausted. Beth was breathing hard, hugging the pillow to her and trying to catch her breath. She had always wondered what rough sex would feel like and now she guessed she knew. She was a little surprised with herself for liking it so much, but she hadn't thought she would like having someone's mouth between her legs either and now she practically begged for that. She felt Rick rubbing her back.

"You alright?," he asked her. She mumbled that she was fine. That made him want to laugh, she was like a rag doll after she came. All her limbs turned into overcooked pasta. He pulled her onto her side so he could spoon in behind her. "You still scared for tomorrow?," he whispered. She nodded. Suddenly she felt like crying. What would she do if Rick didn't come back. RickyJo had already told her not to worry, if the governor snatched them up they would just go get them. But Beth also heard RickyJo had been telling Daryl not to go. She could feel the tears welling up inside her and she tried to choke them back but she started crying anyway. Turning she she could bury her face in his chest, Beth wet them both with her tears.

"Can't you have Shane or Merle go?," she sobbed, "why does it have to be you." He let her get it out and handed her his shirt from the floor so she could wipe up her face. Then he answered her.

"Shane and Merle will just try and kill him. The only chance for a resolution is if your dad and I go talk to him. Maybe we can stop this before it gets worse." Beth still didn't want him going but she knew there was no point in trying to talk him out of it. Rick held her close and stroked her back. Before too long she was fast asleep.

RickyJo tried not to think about what was going on. She tried distracting herself by cleaning the room up and then tried reading a book. Finally she just got up and started pacing up and down the hall, carrying MJ with her and letting his sleepy little head rest on her shoulder. She reminded Merle of a panther he saw at the zoo the only time his parents had ever taken him anywhere. His mom had been pregnant with Daryl but she had been drinking anyway. Some guy had made a rude remark about it and his dad had beat the guy so hard the police had come and taken him away. After that they didn't go to the zoo again.

"Sit your ass down woman," Merle told her, "you are making me nervous." RickyJo took the seat next to him where she crossed her legs and then started bouncing her foot around in the air. He reached down and grabbed ahold of her foot to steady her. "Surprised you got so much energy today," he told her with more than his usual amount of sarcasm. She gave him a dirty look and let out a sigh.

"You are not my boyfriend and you are sure as hell not my father, so who I have sex with is not your business," she informed him.

"Who is your boyfriend then?," he asked, "Darylina?" It was on the tip of her tounge to say something ugly and hateful to him. Daryl hated hated hated being called that and Merle knew it. But RickyJo had known Merle a long time, long enough to know that the feelings he liked to pretend he didn't have were hurt and thats why he was being a jerk. He saw her face go a little angry and then soften up. RickyJo had been putting up with his shit for years and it was going to take more than that to get her going.

"I didn't do it to hurt you," she said. It was the truth. She cared about him quite a lot, more than she even wanted to admit to herself.

"What makes you think I give a fucking shit?," he spit at her. RickyJo just reached over and took his hand, pulling it over so she could hold it. He was the one who brought the whole thing up so obviously he gave a shit.

"If it makes you feel better I was thinking about Michonne's ass the whole time," she said. Merle almost spit on himself. Then he had a good laugh. This is why he loved RickyJo. "I can't help it," she added, holding up her hands to pantomime grabbing an ass, "Its so round." MJ was waking up now, with all the loud laughter, and she unbuttoned her shirt so she could feed him. "Seriously, I think I might start working out with her. Get me a booty," she said, "you know if we all don't die today." Merle laughed a little more about that. RickyJo was never going to get a black girl ass even if she worked out twenty four hours a day.

Shane came in from outside and the conversation quickly turned to business. Glen joined them, scowling at Merle. RickyJo had noticed he never talked to her anymore either, which irritated her. She hadn't done anything to him. And she missed having his input when she was talking to Shane, Glen always kept a level head. Shane and Merle were talking about going down there now and taking out the governor. While RickyJo agreed thats what should have been planned in the first place, it was too late now. If they tried it, their own people might get caught in the crossfire. The discussion was getting a little heated and more people were walking over to offer an opinion. RickyJo finally had enough. People were shouting over each other and this was going no where.

"HEY! HEY! Everyone shut up a minute," she yelled. Once the chatter died down she said, "Look, what we should have done today was use this meeting to our advantage. But thats not what we did. Its over. They might already be on their way back so just stop already. I hate sitting around here waiting just as much as everyone else." Shane nodded and sat down to lean back against the bars of the opposite cell.

"Go do I fucking hate all this waiting around," he said. There were nods all around. That was one thing everyone agreed on. RickyJo handed MJ to Merle and took Judith from Carol to feed her.

"The only thing I hate worse than waiting around is feeling like a human feed bag," RickyJo said. A few people laughed.

"I hate not having TV," Tiny said, "and chinese takeout."

"Do not start talking about chinese takeout," RickyJo warned him with a laugh.

"I miss hot showers," Beth said quietly. For Carl it was video games. Carol said she missed her washing machine. Maggie seconded on the hot showers even though what she really missed was being on the pill. Glen agreed with Carl on the video games. RickyJo didn't expect Merle to add anything since everyone was around so she was taken aback when he spoke up.

"I miss getting all fucked up and then waking up all hungover in the morning. We would all get high and then you would make everyone breakfast," he told RickyJo. She smiled, thinking about it longingly.

"Yeah," she said, "I liked when Jess would help. She made the best cinnamon rolls." Shane looked over at them. Sometimes he forgot how long they had known each other. Almost as long as he had known Rick.

"Can I ask you guys something?," he said. RickyJo shrugged and nodded. "How in the hell did you all meet?" Shane had been wondering about it on and off for some time, but had never really thought to ask about it until now. RickyJo laughed. It was going to be a funny answer, especially to explain to a former cop.

"Merle used to sell me marijuana," she said. This made everyone laugh, especially Merle. He hadn't thought about all that in such a long time.

"You are trying to sound all bad ass," he told her, and then to Shane he said, "she was buying it for her sick Nana."

"You were buying pot for your grandma?," Carl asked her. That sounded crazy to him.

"She had breast cancer," RickyJo explained. Carl nodded. Now it made sense to him. Even at his age he knew that it was okay to smoke pot if you had cancer. There was a loud noise near the outside door and Shane was up and on his feet in seconds, running towards the sound. Merle handed the baby off quickly to Sammie and took off after him, followed closely by Maggie and Glen. Carl and Beth hesitiated for a minute, and then followed them. Sammie and RickyJo took the babies into her cell and Tiny stood outside the door with Carol, keeping guard. Tiny wasn't a very good shot but he would rip anyone who tried to get past in right in half before he let them hurt his friends. He liked everyone but RickyJo and her little babies were his favorite, second only to Michonne, who he thought was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even if she was a little scary. Soon they could hear Carl yelling.

"They're back, they're back," he hollered.


	28. Chapter 28

**** This chapter contains some sexual violence. As always I own nothing from the walking dead. ****

Present Day

Something suspect was going on and RickyJo did not like the smell of it. It had the distinct smell of bullshit. Daryl was a little harder to read but she knew Merle was lying to her. The men had come back from the meeting Hershel was supposed to have had with the governor. Rick had met with him instead. RickyJo trusted Hershel, he had the right to negotiate on her behalf. Rick did not. So that had pissed her off. And then Rick had given some dumb speech to everyone about how they needed to prepare for war. When RickyJo had asked him questions after that he had refused to say what actually happened during the meeting. Well, what really happened anyway. He had fed her some line of baloney, and all she had learned from that was that he was an even worse liar than Merle.

So she waited and watched them. They were going to have to sneak away and talk about whatever it was that they didn't want her knowing about and she was going to find out what it was. It didn't take long before Merle was in the doorway asking Daryl to come help him with some stupid task he could have easily done himself. She did her best to seem bored with whatever they were doing, then she followed them. They only went around the corner from the outside door so it was easy stand inside the door and listen. She couldn't hear everything but she could hear enough. _...can't let RickyJo find out about this. I know. ... We need wire or something she won't be able to chew threw. ... The day after tomorrow. Back at the same meeting place. ... Can't trust him. Going to have to take that chance. ...things he will do to that girl. ... ...throw her to a walker._ RickyJo was straining to hear as much as she could. Say who you are talking about, she thought, come on come on, say the name. And finally she heard one name mentioned specifically. _Michonne._

What a bunch of chicken shit cowards. And thats the nicest thing RickyJo could think of to say about them. She had known something was going on but she never would have thought the guys would be willing to hand a woman over to be raped and murdered in order to get a chance to survive. And the governor was probably going to try and kill them anyway, whether they agreed to do what he wanted or not. In fact, it didn't take a lot of brains to realize it would take most of their best fighters to get Michonne to the meeting place, he would probably just take them out right then, leaving everyone else as easy pickings.

RickyJo tried to control her emotions and rack her brain for everything she had heard that could be useful to her. The guys were not the only ones that could sneak around and make their own plans. They had said when it was going to be and where. Hershel had already told everyone where the meeting place was, before they had left to go have the meeting. And it wasn't that far. RickyJo could run it if she had to. She would just stick close to Michonne and then she would know when they planned to take her. And she had a whole day to figure out the rest of her plan.

Merle had lost heart on the drive to the meeting place and let Michonne go. He thought about going back to the prison, but then changed his mind. If no one showed up at the meeting place, the governor was going to come for them at the prison, and then his family might get hurt. He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to RickyJo or the baby. It made him sick to even think about what the governor might do to them. Maybe he could stop this before it started. But first he needed a drink.

He was shooting the men through the open window, hitting then in the head one after another. Thats when he noticed some men were falling that he didn't hit. Someone else was shooting at the governor's men from another building. His first thought was that it may be Michonne, but she had not had a gun with her when he left her, only her pig sticker. And from what he had seen, she wasn't this good of a shot. These were head shots coming from up high and quite a distance away. Merle was pondering this while he set his sights on the governor. He had a good shot on the man and took it, but some stupid kid wandered in front of the man and Merle got him instead. Then the governor turned and saw him through the window.

Everything happened quickly from there and the next thing he knew, Merle was on the ground and several men were kicking him. He figured they were going to beat him to death here and now but then he heard the governor calling them off. Then he thought the man was going to shoot him but instead he was dragged into a sitting position and tied up. This was going to be worse than he thought. The governor was looking down at him with a sick sadistic smile.

"I am not going to beg," he told the man. The governor laughed.

"We will see about that," he said. Merle had blood in one eye, but he could see the man gesturing to someone outside the building. There was some noise and he could hear a familiar voice. _Fuck you lemme go you fucking cowards._ Merle felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest. The head shots and the strange way she had been acting the last two days. That was RickyJo. He should have known. Two men brought her in, each holding to one of her arms. Her hands were ducked taped together and she had a smear of blood on her forehead. Martinez was one of the men holding on to her, and it looked like he had a broken nose, so Merle guessed the blood was his. She was struggling with the men, trying to break loose and run. Then she saw Merle.

She froze up. He looked awful. There was no way they were going to make a run for it with him in that condition. It looked like he had been beaten within an inch of his life. The governor was watching the two of them, gauging their reactions. And he was happy with what he saw. These two obviously cared about each other. RickyJo got her game face back on and decided if she couldn't make a run for it she would try bluffing.

"Our whole group has you surrounded," she said to the men, "let us go now and maybe you will get out of here alive." The governor laughed at her.

"I have a scout watching the prison," he told her, "he calls me anytime anyone comes or goes. And no one has left except you and lover boy here."

"If he hasn't called you its because they already slit his throat," she answered. The governor made no response. He simply pulled out a walkie talkie that was attached to his belt and pushed the call button. After a little blip and man came on and gave him the all clear. Fuck fuck double fuck, RickyJo thought. The bluffing had been a long shot but it had been the only thing she could come up with. The governor walked over and grabbed her by the arm. He yanked her head back by the hair so she was looking up into his face.

"You try and run again and I will cut Merle's throat and let him turn," he informed her. Then he asked her, "Do you fucking understand me?" She nodded. Then he pulled out a knife and held it up to her face, running it down her cheek and across her neck. He used it to cut the tape that was holding her wrists together. Merle was watching them. Run RickyJo, he thought, this is your only chance. Leave me here and run before he kills us both. Think about the baby and run.

She didn't run. The governor told his men to wait outside and he shut the door to the small building they were in. He looked RickyJo up and down. Merle had good taste, he had to give him that. Even with all the tattoos she had she still came off classy and artsy, not trashy like he would have expected from any girl willing to spend her time with Merle. RickyJo could feel the man's eyes on her. Then he stepped closer to her and lifted up a piece of her hair, smelling it. Her hair was soft and it smelled good. RickyJo was trying to keep her face neutral but all she could think about was Daryl and the way he liked to smooth her hair out over the pillow and rub his face on it. This man sickened her. It was because of men like this that women had to live their lives afraid.

"Take your clothes off," the governor told her, stepping back so he could enjoy the view.

"Don't do anything he says," Merle yelled from the floor. The governor looked at him and pulled his hand up, backhanding RickyJo so hard she fell to the floor, spitting blood. He turned to Merle, "Anything else to say?," he asked him. He waited a moment to see if Merle was going to say anything else. Then he grabbed RickyJo by the hair and yanked her back up onto her feet. She gripped his arm to keep him from ripping the hair right out of her head. He leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth, forcing her mouth open with his tounge. Then he let go of her. She was wiping at her mouth with the back of her arm. He spoke to her now in a calm voice.

"You will do whatever I tell you," he said, "Or I will call Martinez in here to cut off Merle's other hand." She looked at the man. There was no doubt in her mind that he meant what he said. In fact, he might cut Merle's hand off and kill them both even if she did whatever he wanted. "Now take off your clothes."

Merle watched her. She thought about it for a second. Then Merle saw that part of her that had always been proud and strong crumble. The light in her eyes went out and he could see she had gone to a place where no one could follow her. RickyJo wiped at the blood on her mouth and gripped the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up over her head. She had not thought about what happened to her as a child in years. Maybe she had blocked it out on purpose. But it was coming back to her now in waves. The sour smell of her mother's breath and the itchy fabric on the side of the couch and how it rubbed against her face when she was hiding behind it.

And then there were the men. RickyJo remembered them by their voices and the types of shoes they had worn. When they were around, she would find a place to hide. They liked to take their clothes off and get on top of her mother. Some of them liked to hit her first. But the one with the brown work boots was the worst. When he came he give her mother a shot in the arm that made her act funny. Then he would look for RickyJo. She was good at hiding, but he was better at finding. And when he found her he would do things that hurt her and made her sick. _You ever tell anyone about this and I will strangle your mother in front of you and take you away to live with me._ If she didn't do as he told her, he would hold her down and burn her with lit cigarettes. Once her mother had come to while he was touching RickyJo and told him to stop. He had beated her bloody and raped her in the living room carpet.

The babies were getting fussy and Sammie couldn't find RickyJo anywhere. She asked Sammie to watch them sometimes but she always came back quickly. Carol heard MJ crying and headed over to see if she could help. She was worried right away. RickyJo never left those babies alone for more than a few minutes. Carol picked up MJ and set off to find her. She found Daryl in the eating area.

"Have you seen RickyJo?, she asked him.

"Shes not in the bedroom with the babies?," he asked. She had told him she was going to take a nap and not to bother her. He was on his feet in a split second, yelling for her. The area of the prison they lived in wasn't very big, and she was no where to be found. When they looked outside, Daryl noticed his brother and Michonne were missing as well. He also knew today was the day they were supposed to deliver Michonne to the governor. But that wasn't supposed to go down for another hour or so.

Now everyone was on alert, searching the whole place for the missing group members. When Daryl figured out they were no where to be found, he didn't wait, he went out the front gate and ran for the meeting spot. He saw Michonne coming up the road and stopped.

"What happened?," he asked her.

"He let me go," she said. She thought Merle would have headed back to the prison. "He didn't come back here?"

"No," Daryl told her, "was RickyJo with him?" Michonne shook her head. She hadn't seen her since they had eaten breakfast together that morning before Merle had asked her to help him clear out some walkers and then hit her from behind. Daryl was starting to put together what happened. Merle took Michonne on his own and RickyJo must have gone to try and stop him. He didn't know how she found out what was going on but it didn't surprise him. They were stupid to try and lie to her in the first place.

Daryl took off running again. He ran so hard his legs and lungs burned and then he ran some more. When he got to the meeting spot the governor's men were gone. There were walkers shuffling around, some of them gnawing on dead bodies that were lying around on the ground. None of them looked like Merle or RickyJo though. Daryl panicked and started yelling.

"MERLE! RICKYJO!," he screamed, "you all here?" He waited and then he heard his name called. It sounded like RickyJo, but her voice was raspy and weak. He hurried towards the building where the noise had come from and kicked in the door. RickyJo was sitting on the floor with Merle's head in her lap. She was wearing Merle's shirt but Daryl could tell she was naked underneath. Her face was slashed on both cheeks and there was blood running down into the collar of the shirt she was holding together in front. Where her leg was bent out Daryl could see she had blood and bruises on the inside of her thigh. His brother didn't look much better. He looked like someone had beat the hell out of him. His face was swollen up and he was bloody and bruised on every part of his body that Daryl could see.

"Don't ask me what happened," RickyJo said, "Just find me some pants." Daryl could tell from her voice that she was hovering on the edge of losing control. He ran back out and shot one of the fresher looking walkers in the head with an arrow. Then he took its pants and ran back in, handing them to RickyJo.

"We are going to need a car," she said, "Merle can't walk." She wasn't sure how far she could walk either but she didn't say that. Daryl nodded. Before he could run out to find one, he heard a car pull up outside. RickyJo heard it to and started sobbing and rocking back and forth. She was sure it was the governor come back to finish them off. Daryl held his bow up ready to shoot, but was relieved when he saw it was Michonne and Tiny. Michonne went in and helped RickyJo get dressed while Tiny and Daryl got Merle into the car. RickyJo tried to take a few steps and fell. Tiny came back to help her and she flinched away from him screaming. The buttons on her shirt were ripped off and when she moved away from him it fell open. What he saw there made Tiny turn and lose his lunch right there on the floor. She was covered in cuts and burns and bruises. It looked like someone had intentionally caused her as much pain as possible without killing her.

"Its alright," Michonne said, approaching her slowly, "its just us RickyJo. We are not going to hurt you." She put her hand gently on the woman's shoulder. Daryl had come back in by now and when RickyJo saw him she started crying. It was like she didn't even remember talking to him a moment before. She let him pick her up and he carried her to the car, placing her carefully in the backseat next to his brother. Michonne got in the back with them and Daryl drove, heading the car back to the prison.

When they got there, RickyJo had a strange blank look on her face. Michonne put RickyJo's arm around her shoulder and helped her inside. When they got near the door, RickyJo could hear her baby screaming loudly inside. This seemed to snap her back from wherever she was and she started screaming too.

"Give me my baby," she yelled, "where is he? MJ! Give me my baby!" Michonne sat her down in a chair and Sammie came running out with the baby. They had tried giving him a bottle, but he had refused to take it and just kept screaming louder and louder.

"Here he is," Sammie told her, "I watched him just like you said." RickyJo was quick to snatch up her baby, holding him to her chest tightly and then putting him to her breast. When her shirt fell open Sammie stared at her with wide eyes and then looked to Michonne who shook her head at the girl, warning her not to say anything. The guys hurried through, carrying Merle. They took him in where Hershel could take a look at him. During his examination, he came to, screaming about RickyJo and thrashing around until they finally had to sedate him. Hershel judged him to be very badly bruised. The worst of his injuries were his ribs and the deep gash on his scalp. Hershel cleaned it out and sewed it up, then taped his ribs. It was all he could do for the man with the limited supplies he had. And the strongest painkiller they had was regular tylenol so he was going to be feeling pretty terrible for a while.

Carol waited until RickyJo was done feeding her baby, and then she and Maggie took her somewhere more private and cleaned her up. Carol had a strong stomach but this made even her a little sick. Ed had been a piece of shit, but he had never done anything like this to her. RickyJo freaked out when they tried to take the baby from her so Sammie sat in the room holding him where she could see him while the girls cleaned her up. Carol washed all the blood off her with a damp cloth. By the time she got done the water in the bowl was a sickening pinkish color. Then she put ointment on her burns and cuts. Her face was the worst. The gashes on her there were long and ragged. Carol cleaned them out carefully and closed them up with superglue. They were still going to scar but maybe that would help a little. While Carol worked on her RickyJo spoke to her in a quiet eerie monotone.

"He said Native Americans cut off their wives noses if they caught them cheating. To mark them as whores," she said, "Then he cut me. He said everyone would know what he did me as soon as they saw me. And he told Merle he hoped he thought about him every time he looked at me." Sammie was crying now, soft silent tears rolling down and dripping on the baby in her arms. "I was so afraid he would cut off my nipples and I wouldn't be able to nurse the babies."

"Dear god," Maggie said softly to herself. They helped RickyJo into a soft pair of her underwear and the cleanest prison jumpsuit they had. She was walking on her own now, but Sammie carried the baby for her. The girls took her back to her room and got her settled into her bed, laying the baby down with her and covering them with a blanket. Sammie stayed in case she needed anything and also to keep an eye on her.

That was the only time RickyJo ever said a word to anyone about what happened to her. Hershel got the rest of the story from Merle later. Daryl had brought him a bottle of whiskey for the pain and he had sipped it straight from the bottle while he told Hershel what happened in the odd straightforward way he had of talking. By the time he was done, Hershel had needed a drink. He took a long pull from the bottle and then went out to where Rick and Shane were sitting. Hershel looked like he had seen a ghost. He did not repeat the story Merle had told him but gave his opinion in very simple words.

"No more negotiations."


	29. Chapter 29

Present Day

There was a breeze coming in through the broken window but the inside of the car still smelled like death. Merle was leaning back, resting his head against the back of the seat with his eyes shut. RickyJo knew he was angry about being left out of the fight, but the truth was he had not even been able to walk out here to hide in the car without help. Nearby, they had a truck filled with supplies in case things went bad and they had to make a run for it. For the time being, they were hiding in an old abandoned car in the woods outside the prison. Carl and Hershel were outside the car keeping watch. Sammie and Beth were up off the ground hiding in trees a few yards away. Sammie had her bow and the rifle she had been practicing with. Beth had a shotgun loaded with buckshot. She wasn't a very good shot, but this way she just had to aim in the general direction of her target.

Sammie swiped at a piece of her hair that had come loose from her ponytail and fallen down into her face. She shifted her weight around, trying to find a comfortable spot to sit, which was almost impossible. It seemed like they had been out here for hours. Sammie was steaming mad about what happened to RickyJo and she was irritated to be here instead of at the fight so she could get a shot at the jerk who hurt her friend. Also she had to pee and she was sick of sitting in this tree waiting.

Carl watched as Sammie climbed out of the tree and landed soundlessly on the ground. At first he thought maybe she had seen something, but then she walked a few feet away and squatted down behind a bush. Hershel let out a long breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. They had spied on Woodbury and seen the governor gearing up for an attack, but maybe the man had changed his mind. Then Hershel saw the flare go up. Tiny was hiding a few miles down the road, waiting and watching. Then plan was that when the caravans passed him, he was going to send up a flare. Hershel darted around and opened up the car door.

"The flare," Hershel told her. RickyJo nodded. She was sitting in the backseat, nursing MJ to keep him quiet. RickyJo knew her gun was strapped to her leg, but she felt for it anyway to make sure it was still there. The urge to get in the supplied truck and make a run for it rose up in her again and she had to push the feeling back down. With Merle as hurt as he was, they had about a zero percent chance of making it anywhere. There was nothing they could do but wait and hope the plan Rick and Shane had come up with worked. Judith woke up and started to fuss in her sweet quiet way. RickyJo shook Merle gently to wake him and handed MJ over so she could pick up the other baby and feed her.

"The flare go off yet?," he asked.

"Just now," RickyJo said in a soft voice. Merle did not respond. He just boosted MJ up so his little head rested on his shoulder. That was he could support his weight with his bad arm and pat the little guy's back with his hand. When Merle held the baby like this, he usually stopped crying, so he guessed that meant he liked it. Merle had tried not to get attached to the baby, but he found he couldn't help himself. Despite his reservations he liked the little brat, who looked like his brother but smelled like RickyJo. He liked the loud way he protested, swinging his tiny fists in the air, when he wasn't getting what he wanted. And he especially liked how the baby screamed whenever his brother tried to hold it.

Merle looked over at RickyJo. The bruises she had were still at the point were the were looking worse from day to day instead of better. The spots that had been red were now varying shades of dark purple and blue. The burns on her chest were starting to scab over but the cuts on her face still looked bad. She had started screaming in her sleep and opened one of them back up so Hershel had taped it shut with medical tape instead of using more super glue. Merle also knew she had refused to take any painkillers because she was nursing, so he guessed she must be in a fair amount of pain. He had also noticed she wasn't speaking much to anyone. She had not offered her opinion on the plan that Rick and Shane had made, even though it was evident Shane wanted her input. RickyJo had just stared at him with that weird blank look she had been giving everyone lately and then gotten up and walked away. Even now she just looked beaten and broken and ready to give up. Merle wished he could think of the right thing to say to her to make her feel better, but he had never been good with stuff like that.

Sammie was climbing back up into the tree when they heard the crash. It was a huge explosion, and then there was a cloud of smoke rising up. Hershel could tell it was coming from over by the front gate. They must have blasted at the gate itself or one of the guard towers. Then there was the sound of trucks and some more gunfire. Beth held tight to her gun. She was afraid for everyone, but most afraid for her sister and for Rick. She had been relieved to be assigned out here to guard the babies, but now she wished she could be in there to help. Or a least so she could know what was going on. Waiting and wondering out here was agony. It was quiet for a while, then the prison alarms sounded.

The alarms were loud, but the sound of rapid gunfire could still be heard. Sammie thought she could also hear a thundering sound, like a lot of people running and screaming at once. She climbed up higher in the tree so she could try and get a look at what was going on. They were all running away. The governor's so called army. Nothing but a bunch of chicken shits. Sammie laughed. Glen and Maggie weren't even shooting at them, just firing over their heads. Now they were in the trucks, pulling out and driving away as fast as they could. Under her tree, Sammie saw the flicker of movement as someone ran past underneath. She climbed down quickly and dropped to the ground. It was a young man, probably Beth's age or a little older. He had a gun and Hershel was telling him to hand it over. Sammie closed in behind him, keeping him in her sights. Carl had his gun up and he looked at Sammie and then back at the boy. Then he fired. The boy dropped.

RickyJo came out of the car. She had her gun out. Seeing that it was one of the governor's men that was dead and not one of them, she breathed a sigh of relief and got back into the car to hold MJ. The loud noise had scared him and he was crying. Sammie and Carl grabbed the dead boy by the legs and dragged him behind a bush. They took his gun and then Sammie searched his pockets the way RickyJo had taught her. She found extra ammo and an asthma inhaler.

"You want his boots?," she asked Carl. Sammie knew Carl's shoes were getting too small for him. They were starting to pinch in the toes. Carl nodded and they both knelt down to start unlacing the boots of the dead boy. Hershel watched them in shock. Not only had Carl shot a boy that was about to surrender, now he and Sammie were looting his dead body. Carl kicked off his shoes and pulled on the boots, tying them up and walking around in them a little to see how they felt. It was a major improvement. He could actually wiggle his toes inside his shoes now. Sammie came over and handed the inhaler to Hershel. She wasn't sure but she thought maybe he could use it for something. Hershel turned and spoke to Carl.

"Why did you shoot that boy?," he asked, "he was about to surrender." Carl looked at Hershel with some surprise. He was sure he had done the right thing.

"No one will tell me what happened to RickyJo," he started, "But I know someone hurt her. I thought maybe that man was the one who did it and I was afraid he might shoot us and try to hurt Sammie." Sammie rushed into Carl's arms, hugging him tightly. What Carl had said really touched her. She had sworn off on all boys after what those men had done to her, but suddenly she wasn't so sure about her decision. Carl had killed that boy to protect her and that made her feel good inside. She felt tears welling up in her eyes now, and Carl hugged her back tightly. Hershel felt moved by the scene himself. He had been thinking about what happened like Carl was a cold blooded killer. But he was just a scared kid, trying to protect the people he cared about.

"Carl," Hershel said gently, "in the future, we don't kill people who are surrendering." Carl and Sammie let go of each other and looked up at the man.

"But what about the governor?," Sammie asked. Merle spoke up from inside the car.

"If you see that fucker you shoot him and I don't care what he's doing," he said, "you kids fucking hear me!" Even Hershel nodded at that.

"Yeah we hear ya," Sammie told him. She would take her shot at that man no matter what anyone said, if she ever got the chance, but it was nice to have permission. The prison sirens cut off. This was the sign for all clear, so Beth climbed down and went to help RickyJo with the babies.

When they walked back into the prison, only Glen and Maggie were there. Everyone else had gone after the governor. Hershel felt bad and relieved about it at the same time. He wished they could just let those people go, but he also understood that they couldn't spend the rest of their lives watching and waiting for them to come back. It seemed like hours and hours passed. Much too long. Then Carl came running in, saying there was a car pulling up the drive. When it got closer, Hershel could see that it was Shane and Daryl.

There had not been a fight. The Governor had gunned down his own people and taken off. There were still some people back a Woodbury, kids and old people mostly. Shane was going to take the bus back to pick them up and bring them back to the prison. The bus was also going to be loaded with all the food and supplies they could find. Beth, Sammie, Carl and Hershel went with him to help load up the bus. Daryl stayed in case the governor decided to come back, though he doubted that was going to happen. He locked up the cell block and went to check on RickyJo.

She and Merle were sleeping on a couple a mattresses they had layed down on the floor with MJ between them. Little Judith was in the playpen, also fast alseep. RickyJo twitched a little and kicked her legs, but she didn't wake up. Daryl knew she had been having terrible dreams. The night before last she had started screaming for her mother, and Daryl had not been able to wake her. Her nightmare had been so violent she had ripped one of the cuts on her face back open and blood had gushed out onto her and the baby. Then when she had woken up she had started screaming all over again because she thought MJ was hurt. When Daryl tried to hold her she had flinched away from him shrieking for him not to touch her. Michonne had come in and calmed her down, while Sammie and Carol cleaned up the baby.

Hershel said she just needed time to heal. That her mind was hurt the same as her body. He said she would be her normal self again once she had a chance to process what happened, but Daryl had his doubts. It was that blank stare she had been giving him, like she didn't know who or where she was. What happened had dredged shit up from deep inside her. And it had broken her. Daryl could see it in her eyes when she looked at him, she had given up. She was still going throught the motions though, and that gave him some hope. No one had to tell her to get up or take care of the babies, she did that on her own. She twitched a little in her sleep again, this time it woke her up. She startled a little when she saw Daryl sitting in a chair in the doorway.

"Is he dead?," she asked. Daryl shook his head. He was seriously considering lying to her but he knew she would eventually find out the truth and that would make it worse.

"No he got away," Daryl told her. She said nothing, just turned her back to Daryl and cuddled her baby closer to her. She had hoped this would be the end, but now she knew the terror was never going to end. As long as she was here and that man was out there somewhere she would always be afraid.


	30. Chapter 30

20 Years Before the Outbreak

Merle woke up and rubbed at his back where it was sore from sleeping the night on a bench in the park. The next day he was shipping out for basic training and he couldn't stand on more night at home with his father. If the man went for him again, Merle was afraid he might snap and actually kill him. He wished he could take his brother with him, but Daryl would just have to fend for himself for a while. Merle had always been the object of his father's rage anyway. The man usually didn't go after Daryl, so Merle hoped that his brother would be alright. Maybe once he was out of basic and living on base somewhere, Daryl could come and stay with him.

There were a lot a geese and ducks in the park, most of them still settled down sleeping. No people yet except and man and his young son way down on the other side, pulling a small canoe in the water to go fishing. Then he saw a young blonde girl walking over to a picinc table with a small paper grocery bag. Her hair was tangled in the back like she tried to take care of it herself. She sat down at the table and began unloading her purchases. She had a quart of chocolate milk, a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and another one of jelly, plus a bag of iced animal cookies, the kind with pink and white frosting and sprinkles on them.

She looked a little young to be out on her own, and way too young to be doing her own grocery shopping. Merle watched her as she got opened the bread and wrenched the jars of peanut butter and jelly opened with a determined look on her small face. The jelly seemed to be stuck, but she knocked the side of the lid on the table a few times and twisted it open with a satisfying pop. She was wearing a small backpack that was made up to look like a stuffed animal cat. The girl took it off and fished around inside it until she found the butter knife she had brought with her. Then she set about making herself a sandwich that she quickly began devouring, swallowing it down with big swigs of chocolate milk straight from the carton.

Merle was growing bored watching the girl until he saw some movement under the table she was sitting at. That was a copperhead snake. And the small girl was swinging her feet back and forth right above its head, disturbing it. The girl had been keeping an eye on the man on the bench when he rose and began heading in her direction. She gripped the small butterknife tightly in her hand, and thought about whether or not she should should leave her food and make a run for it. When the man got close he darted his arm up under the table and came out with the hugest snake she had ever seen in his grasp.

Merle swung the snake hard against the closest tree twice, smashing its head in. Then he tossed it s far as he could out into the lake. When he turned back the girl was staring up at him with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, a bit of peanut butter smeared in the corners.

"That was a copperhead wasn't it?," the girl asked.

"Sure was," he told her. The look on her face and the way she was still gripping her tiny little dull knife made him laugh. "You ain't planning to stick me with that are ya?," he asked. The girl shook her head but he noticed she did not put the knife down. Smart girl, he thought.

"Thank you," she said.

"You really want to thank me how about you make me one of those sandwiches," he suggested. He could tell the girl was thinking this over. She was still suspicious of him, but he had saved her from the snake. And she had more food than she could finish anyway.

"Okay," she said, turning to take some more bread out of the bag. Merle sat down on the bench next to her, making sure not to sit too close. He did want a sandwich, but he didn't want to freak her out. He noticed the clothes the little girl had on looked expensive but not very clean. She handed him the sandwich and stuffed the last bite of hers in her mouth before making herself another one. When she saw how fast the man ate the one she gave him, she made another one for him too. And now that she had a better look at the man, she realized he wasn't really a man, but more like a big boy. Like the kids that lived downstairs from her and took the bus to higher school. She came down to the park a lot and she didn't recognize him as one of the homeless men who usuallly slept down here.

"Are you a street person?," she asked with the bluntness that only small children could get away with. Merle laughed and then coughed a little on his sandwich. The girl handed him the carton of milk, then waited for his response.

"Nah," he said, "I just come down here to get away from my dad sometimes." He could tell the girl understood what he meant right away and it made him sad for her. She wasn't down here eating by herself because things were great her house. She held the bag up to see if he wanted another sandwich but he shook his head. She packed the bread and things back up in the paper sack she brought and used a napkin to clean the knife off before she put it back in her cat bag. When she leaned down, her hair fell forward and Merle could see she had what looked like a cigarette burn on the back of her neck. It made him cringe.

"What happened to your neck?," he asked her before he could stop himself. Her response was quick and automatic.

"I fell," she said. Fell into a lit cigarette, he thought, not fucking likely. He decided to let it go. There was nothing he could do to help the girl anyway. She opened the bag of cookies and offered some to him. He took a handful and they sat together quietly chewing and passing the carton of milk back and forth until it was gone. Then the girl packed up the rest of the cookies and stuck them into the paper bag with the rest of her food. Merle was thinking maybe he should offer to walk her back home when a very disheveled woman came walking into the park. She had on shorts that were too short for her and a halter top. One of her eyes was black and there were brusies on the insides of her elbows that looked like they might be needle marks. The woman spotted the little girl and made a beeline for the table, snatching her up by the arm and hollering at her.

"How many times have I told you not to wander off like this?," the woman asked her. Merle moved back. The woman's breath smelled strongly of alcohol.

"I was hungry," the girl argued, grabbing the paper sack and taking it with her as the woman hauled her away. Merle watched them go. The woman turned, taking another look at him.

"And you shouldn't be talking to strange men," the woman scolded her.

"Why not?," the girl asked, "you do it." This made Merle laugh. He bet this girl's mother talked to a lot of strange men. And probably did more than talk to them too, from the looks of her. "Besides, he killed a snake," the girl added. Her mother didn't respond, just grabbed the girl's hand and hurried her back towards wherever they lived. As they left the park, the girl pulled her free hand away from her mother and waved goodbye to the man. Then she left with her mother. Merle waved back and as his hand dropped, he felt a strange feeling creep up his spine and leave a trail of gooseflesh down his arms. He brushed it off as just the breeze but deep down in his stomach he knew that being there in the park when that little girl needed help was more than just a coincidence.


	31. Chapter 31

Present Day

The people from Woodbury had been living at the prison about a week when Daryl came in from outside to check on RickyJo. He almost thought he had the wrong room until he noticed all his things were still there. RickyJo's and the baby's things were gone. He rushed out in a panic, looking for her. Shane stopped him.

"She's not gone, she just moved down to the corner room," he said. Shane had been keeping an eye on her while Daryl was out hunting. They didn't want to make it obvious that they were watching her, since that might make her angry. But until she started acting normal and talking again, the guys had decided to keep a close eye on her.

"Did she say why?," Daryl asked. Shane shook his head. RickyJo hadn't said a word to him since before what happened to her. She had just wheeled the babies out in the playpen, took them into the other room and then came back for her things. When Shane asked her what she was doing she just ignored him. She took good care of the babies, and she ate the food they put in front of her. A few times this last week she went out and worked on the section of the garden she considered hers, but she wasn't speaking to anyone. And she had that weird look on her face, like the lights were on but nobody was home. Like she was just the shell of the person that used to live in her body. Shane had tried to talk to her a few times, but she just stared right through him like he wasn't even there.

Daryl turned and headed down to the corner room that he guessed was RickyJo's room now. She was sitting in her camp chair, nursing MJ while Judith played on a blanket she had spread out on the floor. Daryl stood in the doorway waiting for her to acknowledge him, which of course she didn't. He had the urge to grab her and shake her silly so he turned and walked away back outside. Merle was in the room next to her, resting. He was up and walking around now, but Hershel had given him strict warnings to take it easy and let his ribs heal. He had watched RickyJo walk past with her things earlier and he was wondering what in the hell got into her. She had been acting strange, but moving out of the room she shared with Daryl and then refusing to talk to him was odd. It was not like her to be intentionally cruel.

Merle got up and walked into her room. She gave him the same treatment she had given Daryl, pretending like he wasn't even there. Complete bullshit is what that was. She also looked dirty. Everyone was a little dirtier than normal these days, but from the looks of her, she had not changed or showered since the day they had been hiding in that car. Merle kicked at the leg of the chair she was sitting in.

"Your little mute act isn't fooling me," he said to her, "what the hell is going on with you?" She tured towards him now, looking angry. Angry was better than nobody's home retarded, Merle figured.

"You want to tell me about how everything is going to be fine?," she asked, "just like everyone else keeps doing." Her voice was quiet at first but then she raised it when she added, "Because I am fucking sick and tired of hearing that shit." Merle crossed his arms and looked down at her. So people, most likely Daryl, had been coddling and baby talking her and she was sick of it. Well Merle couldn't say he blamed her.

"No," Merle told her, "I came to tell you that you need to take a goddamn shower and brush your teeth 'cause your breath stinks and so do you." He could tell she was trying to stay angry at him and having a hard time. Finally she smiled, then winced since it hurt the cuts on her face when she smiled. It was nice to be talked to like she was her normal self again and not someone who was about to go nuts at any moment. She looked down at the baby, picking at a stray thread on the blanket she was using to hold him.

"I can't take a shower," she said. He voice was soft and quiet now. "Every time I try to get undressed I have a panic attack," she explained. Merle felt bad now for giving her a hard time. He should have guessed there was a reason that someone he had known to be on the obsessive side of clean was suddenly not bathing. He knelt down and put his hand on her leg. She tensed up just a little at his touch but then relaxed.

"Is there anything I can do for you?," he asked. She thought this over carefully. There was something that would make her feel better but she felt a little weird asking.

"Would you take a shower with me?," she asked him. Merle thought this over. He wanted to help her, but he wasn't sure he wanted to look at everything that had been done to her body. It made him angry. And he wasn't sure he would be able to be with her naked and not get aroused.

"Are you sure you want me?," he asked her, "I can go get Sammie or Carol for you." She shook her head no. Sammie and Carol didn't make her feel safe. And she remembered their reactions to seeing her body when Carol had been cleaning her up. She didn't want them looking at her again. But she didn't want Merle to do it if it made him uncomfortable. She knew she was ugly now and she didn't blame him for not wanting to see her hacked up body naked. "How about I go get little brother," he offered. She shook her head again.

"Its okay," she said, "just forget it. I wouldn't want to look at me either." That was more than enough for him to hear. He got up and went out in the hall, calling Shane in to watch the babies. Then he turned to RickyJo.

"Get your shit," he said, "come on lets go." Shane came in and picked up Judith. He was pleased to see that RickyJo was making eye contact now, instead of her blank stare. He didn't ask where they were going, he had heard their conversation from out in the hall. Instead he told them to hang on a minute and got them some clean towels out of his room. RickyJo even smiled a little when he handed them to her. The showering together thing was a little strange. But as far as Shane was concerned she could shower with everyone in the place if it made her feel better. He would be more than happy to get in line. Even with the scabs and the bruises, she was still the best looking woman in the place now that Lori was gone.

They went into the shower area. A few water barrels had be set up so they would fill with rain water from outside. Then there were rigged somehow so the water would come out of the spouts. It wasn't boiled water so you couldn't drink it, but it was fine for bathing. Luckily no one else was around. It was a nice day and most people were outside working on the gardens or various other projects. Merle had left his arm peice back in his room, he had taken it off earlier when he had been thinking about taking a nap. RickyJo kicked her shoes off by the door and then peeled her socks off. Merle was right about one thing. She stunk. The she set her towel on a bench by the wall and took a deep breath. Merle could see that she was hesitating now.

"If you are waiting of me to start throwing ones I got to tell you I don't have any cash," he told her. It took RickyJo a minute to realize he was making a stripper joke. Given the situation, the joke was so far past the bounds of appropriate that she stood there shocked for a minute. He was thinking maybe he had taken it a little too far when she started laughing. She held her face, it hurt to laugh, but it felt so good at the same time. Before she could change her mind, RickyJo gripped her tank top and shirt, pulling them up and over her head in one swift motion. She had not been able to wear a bra because of the cuts and burns on her breasts. Next she pushed her sweats and underpants down and stepped out of them. RickyJo looked down and saw there was a few spots of fresh blood along with a lot of dried blood on her underpants and some on the inside of the sweats she had been wearing. All the bravery she had been feeling quickly drained out of her and suddenly she was shaking with her arms crossed to cover her chest.

She felt Merle's arms go around her and he pulled her against his bare chest, holding her tight until she stopped shaking. He walked her over until they were standing under one of the working faucets and then turned the water on. The water wasn't warm, but it felt refreshing. RickyJo felt the water running over her, wetting her hair. She was feeling a little better now, at least she could breathe again. She grabbed for one of the bars of soap that was on a wire basket, hanging off the faucet. Moving quickly, she scrubbed her hair first and then washed the rest of her. When she washed off the dried blood it turned the water at her feet sickening colors. She closed her eyes. The room was spinning. She felt Merle's hand on her shoulder, steadying her. He had seen the blood washing off and of all her injuries, the dark bruises on her hips and the insides of her thighs were the ones that made him fume with anger. Once he was sure she wasn't going to faint, he took the soap from her and washed himself up. His face was still a mess and RickyJo took the soap from him and carefully washed it for him, making sure not to get the soap into any cuts where it would burn and sting.

He was black and blue all over, but the worst of it was the huge round bruise over his ribs. RickyJo touched it tenderly with the tips of her fingers, making him gasp. There were a few herbs she knew were good for bruises but she wasn't sure if they had any of them available. Maybe she could ask Hershel later. Merle turned the water off and they headed over to grab the towels. RickyJo felt relieved to be wrapped up again. And she had to admit, she felt much better after her shower. Almost like her regular self again. She gathered up both of their dirty clothes, holding them away from her in a bundle, and held her towel tightly around her, heading back to her room.

Shane was sitting with both of the babies in his lap, trying to keep MJ from grabbing Judith's hands and putting them in his mouth. RickyJo came in wearing her towel and dropped off the dirty bundle she was carrying by the door. She leaned down and gave each of the babies a peck on the top of the head. Shane could see the blood that had been crusted into her hair and all over the side of her neck was finally gone, and she smelled like soap and rain water.

"Feel better?," he asked her. She shrugged and held up her hand giving a little motion that he took to mean so/so. "You look better," he informed her, "and smell better." She didn't respond, but at least she rolled her eyes at him instead of giving him a blank stare. She grabbed some underwear and a pair of shorts and pulled them on under her towel. Then she put her back to him and took off her towel so she could wrap her damp hair up in it and pull on a shirt. Shane had seen most of her tattoos before but he had never gotten a very good look at the one that was on her lower back before. It looked like rainbow butterflies, and was more cute and sexy than trashy, which was how he usually thought girls looked that had tattoos on that part of the body. Shane was still wondering why she had moved her room and since she seemed to be in a better mood he decided to ask her.

"How come you moved all your stuff in here?," he asked as casually as he could. At first he wasn't sure if she was going to answer him or not. She came over and picked up MJ, who had been cooing and reaching for her as soon as she came in the room. Then she sat down on the bed to feed him. She looked down at the baby and spoke quietly. Her voice sounded small and sad.

"Because I knew Daryl didn't want to stay with me anymore but he felt too guilty about it to leave." Now Shane was really confused. Daryl didn't want her moving out. In fact he was in a panic earlier when he saw her stuff was gone. But maybe something had happened that Shane didn't know about.

"Why do you think that?," he asked. How sad her face got made him immediately regret asking.

"He can't even stand to look at me anymore," she said. Shane wasn't so sure that was true. He had the feeling Daryl did plenty of looking at her when she didn't know he was watching. Everyone had just been trying to give her space. "I just want him to be happy and I can't make him happy," she added. Really she just wanted to give him the chance to get away from her without feeling bad about it if thats what he wanted. She wasn't sure what kind of girlfriend she could be for him after what happened to her. And she felt the same way she always felt, that he deserved better than someone as fucked up in the head as she was. Shane wasn't sure what to say to her, so he sat next to her on the bed and put his arm around her shoulders.

"If you need anything," he said, feeling a little lame about it, "I am always here for you." RickyJo slid her arm around his waist and hugged him back, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know," she said, "thanks for being my friend." He laughed at little at her simple declaration. He had never had a female friend before, but when he thought about it, he guessed thats what she was. He trusted her, maybe even more than he trusted Rick. Always quick to ruin a special moment, MJ pulled off her breast and gave a loud grunt, followed by one of the most disgusting squishy fart noises ever heard. His diaper was now filled with what promised to be one big yellow liquid breastmilk shit disaster. RickyJo looked down at the baby and then looked at Shane, who was leaning away, fanning his nose.

"There is something you could do for me...," she said.


	32. Chapter 32

Present Day

Acting like everything was okay was more work than she thought it was going to be. RickyJo woke up every morning paralyzed with fear. She was afraid to go outside, afraid to go to sleep at night and afraid to take a shower alone. Daryl never said a word to her about moving her room so she decided she must have been right about him not wanting to be around her. In fact, all he did these days was leave with Michonne to go hunting. Since half the time they came back empty handed, RickyJo guessed that wasn't all they were doing. Sometimes they even stayed out for more than a day at a time. It made her heart hurt but she loved him and wanted him to be happy, even if it was with someone else.

Michonne had seen the way RickyJo had been looking at her. She could tell RickyJo thought there was something going on between her and Daryl and she had been tempted many times to tell her what they were really doing out on the road. They were hunting, but not for animals. They were looking for the governor. Daryl wanted to kill him for what he did to RickyJo and Michonne wanted to kill him for what he did to Andrea. And they both knew that no one would ever really be safe until he was dead. Daryl had warned Michonne not to say anything to RickyJo about it. He didn't want her worrying about him or getting her hopes up that they might be able to find the man since the trail had already gone cold the day after he shot his own people.

The same feeling welled up inside RickyJo every day. It was the overwhelming urge to run. Run far away and never look back. Go somewhere that evil man would never find her. Most people thought he was dead but she knew different. He was off somewhere plotting the next horrible thing he was going to do to them. She was tired and scared and she missed her family and wanted to go home. A group of people had gone out and cleared out a gas station. Without drawing too much attention, RickyJo had snagged a map from the pile of things they brought back. She kept it in her room under her pillow and she looked at it at night. There were two places circled on the map. One was the prison and the other was home. But she wasn't stupid enough to think she could make it alone. She needed help to get herself and her baby safely home. And then there was baby Judith to think about. She couldn't take her, or Shane would follow her until he found her and make her come back, but she couldn't leave her here with no one to feed her either.

Merle found RickyJo in the second place he looked. She was down by the gardens with a blanket spread out and a shade umbrella set up so the babies could roll around outside and get some fresh air. Judith liked to lay on her back and grab at her tiny feet, trying to get them into her mouth. MJ was rolling over now, crawling along like a little inch worm towards the edge of the blanket to he could try and shovel another handful of grass into his mouth. RickyJo took hold of his legs and dragged him back towards the center of the blanket. She had already had to clean the grass out of his mouth once and gotten bit for her efforts and had no interest in doing it a second time. He made a little squeal of protest and started off again with even more determination.

"What is he doing?," Merle asked her, sitting down next to her on the blanket.

"Trying to eat grass," she said with a sigh, "I can understand wanting to try it, but why would he want to keep eating it?" Merle laughed and shook his head. She leaned forward and dragged him back again. This time he kicked his little legs, trying to get away from her. She pulled him closer and picked him up this time. "Wouldn't you rather have a nursie," she asked the boy. He smiled and grabbed at her shirt. Of course he would rather nurse. He would rather do that than anything else. Merle looked down at the baby, not only was he nursing, he had ahold of her breast with both hands and was kneading and pinching at it.

"For fuck's sake," he said, "Doesn't that hurt?" RickyJo smiled down at the baby.

"Not really," she said, "thats his new thing, I think it must make the milk come out faster." As long as the little stinker wasn't biting her she didn't much care what he did. She turned her attention to Merle, who was still staring down her shirt. "Thirsty?," she asked him. This made him laugh some more. If she was going to whip them out there, she couldn't blame him for looking. RickyJo thought about giving him more of a hard time, but she had something else she wanted to talk to him about. She had been waiting for the right time to bring it up and she was afraid to do it inside the prison since noise had a tendency to carry in there.

"Do you like living here?," she asked him. He thought about it. He didn't really like it here, but it was better than Woodbury. No one expected him to murder people for them around here. And his brother was here. More importantly, RickyJo and the baby were here. He knew where this discussion was going. He had heard RickyJo in her room at night crinkling a big piece of paper around. After she went outside the day before he had gone into her room and poked around until he found the map. He knew she wanted to go home.

"You're here," he told her.

"If I wanted to leave would you go with me?," she asked, watching his face. If he went and blabbed to everyone that she was going to take off, they would all start watching her like hawks again and she would never get away. And she had to get out of there.

"You want _me_ to take you home?," he asked. So much more was hanging in the air unsaid after his question. _What about Daryl._ Did she want to be with him, or was she just using him as a means to an end. Were they going to ask Daryl to come with them or leave him here. RickyJo knew there was nothing left for her to say. She touched his face with her hand, rubbing her thumb gently across his mouth. And then she kissed him. The last time they had kissed was the night she conceived her son. It wasn't much more than a peck, but when she pulled away she felt dizzy. It was the same feeling she always had when they kissed, like when she and Jessica had been little kids and they used to take turns twisting each other up on the tire swing as tight as they could and then letting go. She always felt like if she looked into his eyes too long she would lose herself.

"I want you to go home with me," she said. Then she looked back down at the baby.

Shane was looking around for RickyJo. He had been playing with Judith all morning, but now she was starting to get hungry. RickyJo wasn't outside, so he went to check in her room, but she wasn't there either. He checked in Merle's room next, but she wasn't there. He was hoping the two of them hadn't snuck off to go shower together or whatever it was they did when they were alone. Looking down the hall he saw Daryl standing outside his room. He called to him but the man didn't answer. Daryl was staring into his room at something with what Shane considered to be a rather intense look on his face. He walked closer to the man.

"Have you seen RickyJo?," he asked Daryl.

"She's gone," Daryl told him flatly. Shane already knew RickyJo was staying in her own room now. Everyone knew that. Maybe Daryl meant she had gone outside somewhere.

"When is she coming back?," Shane asked, "Judith wants her." Daryl pointed inside his room at a pile of stuff that was on the bed. When Shane got closer he realize it was nothing but cans of powdered baby formula. There was so much of it, probably enough to last Judith until she could eat regular food.

"She isn't coming back," Daryl told him, "She's gone for good."


	33. Chapter 33

Present Day

They walked and they walked and the further they got from the prison the better RickyJo felt. From last winter she knew all the roads south were blocked. And they would make easy targets out on the road alone anyway. Merle had stared at the map for days and finally come up with a plan. They could follow the railroad tracks. It would take them a little longer, but what was a few more weeks when it had already taken her a year and a half to get home. All the tracks met in a central location. Once they got there, they could just figure out which track was the one that went right by her Nana's farm and follow it all the way home. Plus people would expect them to head South not East. If anyone was looking for them, heading along the tracks would be a good way to throw them off.

Merle was worried the baby would be loud and attract the walkers, but as long as RickyJo kept him close, carrying him in the little pouch she had, he stayed happy and quiet. She could nurse him as they walked so they didn't have to worry about finding food for him, just enough water for her. They had some emergency traveling food, but it was better to eat off the land or scavenge what they could and save that for when they really needed it. RickyJo was a little out of practice but soon she was bringing down squirrels and rabbits with her bow. Plus Merle knew about every plant in the woods and they ate everything he deemed safe for consumption.

On the forth day they found the cabin. It had a well pump which meant they didn't have to boil the water before they drank it. And Merle decided it would be a good idea to stay there a while and see if he could get a deer. They could dry the meat into jerky and carry it with them. Plus he could tell RickyJo was getting winded and needed a break. For the last few months, she had mostly been sitting or lying around with the babies and while she hated to admit it, she was out of shape. Walking several miles a day had made every part of her body sore. And her back was killing her from lugging MJ around all day. Plus she really needed to wash his diapers out and hang them up to dry. During the day she often left his bottom bare and just lifted him out of the carrier and held him away from her when he needed to do his business but she still had to diaper him at night. She stuffed anything absorbent she could find in there, but the cloth diapers still needed to be washed out every few days.

They lucked out and found some canned food inside the cabin. RickyJo poked through it, pulling out what she wanted. Then she chugged her third glass of water. It was amazing to be able to drink all the water she wanted for once. Merle laughed at her. He had never seen someone get a buzz from plain drinking water in his life. There was no booze in the place, which he figured was both a curse and a blessing. MJ was crawling around on the floor, looking for some trouble to get into. Merle picked him up and sat down at the table with him, where RickyJo was eating out of a can of fruit cocktail. She drained out a little of the juice and spooned it into his mouth. He made a sour little face at first, then opened his mouth for more. He reminded Merle of a baby bird. She gave him another bite and then decided that was enough. The last thing she needed to deal with was baby diarrhea. He was mad now and yelling for more food so she took him into her lap to nurse him and pushed the rest of the fruit over to Merle.

The next morning Merle went hunting while RickyJo stayed at the cabin to wash out diapers and their extra clothes. MJ was napping and she was out on the porch, hanging the stuff over the rails to dry when she saw the deer. She had her bow out there, in case she saw any biters, so she picked it up slowly, notching an arrow. Then she took careful aim. She couldn't leave MJ here to chase or track an injured deer so she was only going to get one shot at this. Taking a few deeps breaths, she let the last one out slowly and fired. The deer took one last leap and then fell down dead with an arrow through the eye. RickyJo quickly layed the rest of the clothes over the rail and then headed down to gut the deer. It was what people often called a button buck, which was a male deer too young to have any antlers yet. She would have rather got his nice fat mother, but this fellow would do just fine. Instead of bringing the deer inside, RickyJo set up a table outside and started butchering him up. She skinned it first, then cut the meat into long thin tounge like slices that would dry evenly over a fire. Making jerky over a smoky fire was a little different than using her jerky maker but she had done it a few times with Daryl's help over the winter. Before she could get the fire going, she heard MJ crying and had to go inside and tend to him.

Merle had not been lucky enough to see any deer but he had gotten a few good sized rabbits and a wild turkey. He had seen a lot of deer tracks, and if he had stayed out longer he might have gotten one, but he didn't want to be gone too long. It made him nervous to leave RickyJo and the baby alone. Not only because something might happen, but also because it was always a possibility that she might get a bug up her butt and take off on him. When he got closer he could smell the smoke from the fire. He came through the gate in the fence and found RickyJo slicing up deer meat with the baby strapped to her back. There was nothing he could do but laugh.

"Did you shoot it out of the window?," he asked her.

"Off the back porch," she answered, smiling at him. She was actually glad he hadn't gotten another deer. Butchering up this one was enough of a chore and they wouldn't be able to carry more than this with them anyway. "Nice turkey," she added, "We can throw that in a pot with some water and have soup tomorrow."

"Fuck that I am smoking me some turkey legs tonight," Merle declared. RickyJo was laughing and as he approached her she flung her arms around him, holding her hands out in a funny way so she wouldn't smear deer blood and guts on him. Merle had not been sure about leaving the prison with her. He had been worried about all of their safety, out here alone, and he had been worrried that she might freak out and want to be taken back. But the further away they got, the more she seemed like her old self. If she was missing Daryl or wishing she was back at the prison, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. He pulled her tight against him and kissed her hair. MJ was excited to see him and started smiling and waving his little chubby fists in the air. Then RickyJo let go of him and went back to cutting up the deer.

That night they gorged themselves on venison loin that RickyJo had soaked in olive oil and mashed up wild garlic and turkey drumsticks, washing it down with lots of cold water. RickyJo rocked MJ in an old squeaky rocking chair, nursing him until her was what she liked to call milk drunk. Then she tucked him into bed in the crib. He would scream like a banshee when he woke up and figured out he had been tricked but hopefully she would get at least a few hours of peaceful sleep before then. Merle was sitting in a chair by the window, trying to read the one old dingy book that he had found in the cabin in the dying light that was coming in from outside. He heard her quiet footsteps behind him and then RickyJo had her hands on his neck, rubbing it and then moving to rub his shoulders.

He let his head fall back against her stomach. No one had rubbed or touched him in a long time and she had always had a gentle touch. He had heard the term healers hands before, and he guessed that was as good a way as any to describe how hers felt. They were always warm and she never used too much pressure when she touched him. She rubbed his neck and then moved up the back of it to rub his scalp, making small circles with her thumbs up the back and around his hairline to his temples. No wonder Daryl had always been after her, trying to get her to rub his head for him, back when they were all staying at her apartment in Atlanta. Merle had thought it was just a pussy way of trying to get close to her, but this actually felt damn good. It was best not to start thinking about Daryl anyway. Then he would have to start thinking about how he had taken his woman and skipped out on him.

RickyJo was rubbing Merle's scalp, smiling at the way he was leaning his head back with his eyes closed. He reminded her of a cat getting its belly scratched. She was glad to see how much more relaxed he was now that they were away from the prison group and it was just the two of them. Then again she had always had the best time with him when no one else was around. He didn't put on his asshole macho act when it was just her. Well, not as much anyway. And she loved watching him with the baby. It was hard looking at the baby and at him and not thinking about how the baby she loved with all her heart was part of both of them and they had made him. Which of course led her to start thinking about love and sex and what might have happened between them if he hadn't gone on that run to Atlanta and about how maybe it wasn't too late after all.

Merle had his eyes shut, letting her rub him and waiting to see if she was going to do anything else. He was thinking about grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her down into his lap but he didn't want to scare her. They had both healed physically from what happened but it was hard to know what she was emotionally ready for, especially when she had always been skittish when it came to sex with men anyway. She moved down from his scalp and was rubbing his neck again, then leaning down to rub his chest. He tipped his head back to get a look at her face. She had her eyes shut and she was biting down on her lower lip. Her chest was heaving like she was breathing hard and her nipples were hard and poking at the fabric of her shirt. He leaned back and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her forward around the chair and down gently into his lap. He held her tight against his chest, waiting to see if she was alright.

She took a few deep breaths and then her arms glided up around his neck and she had her mouth on his. They kissed softly at first but soon that old spark that had always been between them caught fire and he found he had her in his arms, carrying her towards the bed. He set her down on the side of the bed and stepped back for a second to get a chance to think.

"You sure about this?," he asked her. He could have punched himself in the throat for asking her that, but the truth was he didn't want her regretting this or feeling bad about it in the morning. RickyJo stood up and pulled her shirt off over her head. Then she pushed down the pair of cutoff sweats she had found in the cabin that were serving as her pajamas. She closed the distance between them and knelt down in front of him, unzippping his pants and taking him into her mouth. _Guess I didn't need to ask her that after all._ They had only had sex that one time before and she had never put her mouth on him. He was pleasantly surprised. For a lesbian, she sure knew what she was doing. In fact, it was feeling almost a little too good. He caught her by the arm and pulled her up and away from his groin area. She thought this was funny of course, and continued trying to touch and rub at him with her hands until he shoved her away and pushed her down onto the bed. She wiggled around until she could get the covers down and then slid under them, moving over to make some room for him. He was busy trying to get undressed, which was no easy feat with one arm and a major hard on.

"Don't think you are coming in here with that thing on either," she told him, pointing to his arm peice. He swore a few times under his breath and loosened the straps up so he could get it off. Then he pulled his shirt and undershirt off and shoved his pants down the rest of the way, kicking them off. RickyJo held the covers up for him so he could climb in next to her. Once he was under she yanked them up to cover both of them and snuggled in close to him. Her favorite part about sex was always feeling the warmth of someone's naked skin against hers. Soon he was kissing her, on her mouth, her neck, moving down to kiss and suck at her breasts. It wasn't until he got on top of her that she froze up. He felt her hands against his chest, pushing him off.

"Just not that way okay," she said quietly. He nodded and rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. Now she was on top of him, which felt better to her. She relaxed and went back to kissing him. He was shifting his hips under her, looking for her opening. Finding the spot he had been searching for he pushed inside her, moaning loudly. She rocked her hips gently, then brought her knees up and pushed herself up into a sitting postition. Now it was her turn to moan and gasp as she felt his full length inside her. He was trying hard to lay still and let her go at the pace that she was comfortable with but it was agony. She was leaning forward now, with her hands on his chest, rocking back and forth in a slow circular motion. She had her eyes closed and she was biting down on her lip again the way she had been when she was rubbing his back.

She jerked back and forth a few times and then she arched her back, her nails digging into his chest and she was making soft little gasping noises. He pulled her down against his chest and bent his knees, pumping into her as hard and fast as he dared until he found his release. She didn't come again but it still felt good to her. When she was sure he was finished, she lifted off and rolled next to him so she could rest her head on his chest.

"Its the weirdest thing," she said in a soft sleepy voice, "it happened when we had sex before too. I keep seeing a snake in my mind."

"Yeah baby," he told her grabbing at his now flacid penis, "its this fucking python." She smacked at him playfully.

"Not your dick you fucking retard," she said, "a real snake." He tried to take this a little more seriously now. Come to think of it, he had been dreaming about snakes back when he had been living at Woodbury.

"Was it a copperhead snake?," he asked her. Her head popped up from where she was resting on his chest.

"How did you know that?," she asked. She had never told anyone about that. The truth was he wasn't sure how he knew, he just knew.

"Had some dreams about them before I guess," he said. She settled back down against his chest now. Maybe them having the same weird snake dream meant something and maybe it didn't but she was too tired now to try and figure it out. Plus she was feeling happy and satisfied for the first time in a long time and there was no point in ruining it by talking too much.

"Is it okay if I sleep here like this," she asked, kissing up his neck and behind his ear, "or do you want more space." He answered her question by pulling her closer and kissing her back. He never needed space when it came to being close to her.

They stayed at the cabin for another week, using the excuse that they were drying meat, but really just enjoying having a bed to sleep and do other things in. And of course having the well pump for water was nice too. But they were really too close to the prison still to stay any longer. People came out this far sometimes when they were hunting or going on runs. And while they had been careful to try and not make the fire visible from a distance, anyone who got close was going to see the smoke and find them.

What they didn't know was that Michonne had found them and watched them for most of an afternoon. She had been out looking for the governor when RickyJo and Merle had left the group and she had been surprised to find them there. At first she had thought maybe the man had forced RickyJo to leave with him and Michonne was going to wait for an opportunity to help her. But it became clear to her while she was watching them that RickyJo was not being held against her will. In fact, she had seen the woman smiling, and she had seen them kissing. They had been sitting outside on a blanket they had spread out on the grass, letting the baby crawl around while they passed a can of peas back and forth between them. Her first instinct was to try and make them go back to the prison with her where the baby would be safe, but then Michonne remembered how people had tried to force her to stay at Woodbury and how angry that had made her. Michonne liked RickyJo and she had seen how miserable she had been living at the prison. Now she looked happy. Eventually, Michonne faded back into the bushes and went back the way she came without a word.

RickyJo and Merle had been walking for about a mile when they saw another one of those signs. This one had a map on it so they took a look. The place that was circled was the spot they were headed, the area where all the railroad tracks came together. RickyJo had no idea was Terminus was, but it sounded interesting. If the people there seemed alright, maybe they could stop and do some trading. If not, they could simply avoid the area and find the track they were looking for without going inside.

The map had also given them a chance to figure out exactly were they were. It had taken them four days to walk this far, which meant Terminus was about another two days away, and then the walk to RickyJo's farm would take about another week. Adding the time up in her head, she was starting to get excited. Less than two weeks away from being home sounded too good to be true. Merle wanted to get her home, but he was more skeptical of what they were going to find when they got there. He knew RickyJo had all her hopes built on everyone still being alive when they got there, and it was a very good possibility that would not be the case.

That night they slept in the back of an abandoned van. The middle of the next day is when they got their first look at the place they were headed. It would disappear out of view when they went down the next hill but for now, RickyJo wanted to try and get a better look. She pulled Merle over and poked through has backpack for the binoculars she had packed.

"Where'd ya get those?," he asked her. She raised her eyebrows mischievously and told him.

"Stole them from Glen when he was taking a peepee."

"A peepee?," Merle repeated. You could tell she had been spending too much time talking to babies.

"A piss, a shit, maybe he was wacking off, I don't know but I stole his damn binoculars," she said. She was laughing a little at herself now. Jessica used to talk that way to her girls and RickyJo had always made fun of her for it. Now she was doing it. RickyJo looked through the lenses and tried to see what there was to see. Big fences, big buildings, not much of anything really. A lot of old train cars sitting around. Then she saw some motion out on the roof. There was someone up there looking back at her with their own pair of binoculars. It looked like a man and he had clearly spotted them because he was waving at her. She waved back, then handed the field glasses back to Merle so he could get a look.

"I guess we are going there now," she said, "they already spotted us." She elbowed Merle. "Wave," she told him, "try to look friendly." He gave her a dirty look and raised his arm piece up in the air and waved it around a little. They packed the binoculars back up and started walking. After about a half a mile, RickyJo spotted something that caught her attention. She pulled on the back of Merle's shirt and pointed. It was a huge patch of wild raspberrries. They stepped off the tracks and started eating. Once they had their fill, RickyJo took off the cowboy hat that she had been using to keep the sun off her and MJ and lined it with a relatively clean hanky. Then she started filling it. They could snack on them on the way, and maybe take some to the people they were going to visit with. The hat was about three quarters of the way full when they heard voices. Merle pulled her with him behind a larger bush and they ducked down.

"We have to be getting close."

"Maybe they turned around and went back."

"No Tom said they were walking this way."

"Maybe they got off the tracks and hid."

"Well we better find them, Tom said they had a baby with them and Gareth wanted us to find them and walk them the rest of the way to be sure they made it there safe."

"I hope nothing happened to them, we saw that big group of walkers milling around this area yesterday."

RickyJo and Merle exchanged glances. That didn't sound so bad. In fact it sounded like the men had come out here to see if they needed help. He figured it was as good a time as any to show himself so he stood up and hollered at the men.

"Looking for someone?," he asked. The men turned around, looking a little startled. RickyJo stood up as well, wrapping her arms around her baby protectively. One of the men smiled at her warmly and walked over as closely as he dared, extending his hand.

"Alex," he said. She took his hand and shook it tentatively. Then she introduced herself, Merle and the baby.

"We were picking raspberries," she explained, holding up the hat. The man reached over and took one, popping it into his mouth and chewing. It was good. Merle could tell the men were nervous. Maybe they were just scared to be outside their high walls, or maybe they were hiding something, it was hard to tell.

"Did you see the signs?," the man asked, leaning down to grab a few more berries and toss them into the hat RickyJo was holding. This helped her to relax a little and she also knelt back down and started picking. She was still careful not to let him get too close to her baby.

"Yeh," she said, "We weren't sure if anyone was still here but we thought we would check it out." She and Merle had already agreed not to say anything about where they were really going to these people. Seeing that Alex had not been attacked or killed dead, Martin came down from the tracks and started helping. They should try and remember these berries were here, they could come back in a few days and get some more. He noticed the man she had introduced to Alex as Merle did not move to help them, and instead was keeping a close eye on the men while he held his gun where they could see it. Alex didn't blame him. From the looks of the two of them, they had both been attacked before. Someone had cut the woman's face up, although the marks didn't detract from how attractive she was.

The men didn't ask her anymore questions, just helped her pick the berries until her hat was full and then headed back up to the tracks. Merle was relieved that no one else had come out of the compound, just these two men. And they weren't forcing them or trying to coral them back to their camp, just walking with them. When they got there, big signs were up at the entrance saying welcome and to lower your weapons. The men walked them into what looked like an outdoor kitchen area. An older looking woman with long hair that was in a braid was busy putting some sort of meal together. She looked up and smiled when she saw the newcomers.

"You must be hungry," she said, "let me make you a plate." Alex spoke up for them. His mother always got suspicious of people that didn't want to eat right away.

"Actually we just stuffed ourselves on a bunch of raspberries we found near the tracks," he said. RickyJo took this opportunity to step forward and hand her hat to the woman.

"If you have a bowl or something you could dump those in I would like the hat back," she said, giving the woman the warmest smile she could manage. It had made her feel better to see there was a woman here. And no one seemed to be harassing her or forcing her to be there. Alex remembered his manners and stepped forward to introduce his mother. RickyJo shook her hand and turned so the woman could get a look at her baby.

"Look at that red hair," the woman said, brushing a curl back that had fallen down into MJ's face. Luckily MJ was sleeping or he would have thrown a fit at being touched by the strange woman. Then the woman took a large bowl out from a low shelf and dumped the berries in, handing RickyJo back her hat, which she plopped back on her head. "My son is the leader here," the woman said, "he is going to want to speak to the two of you." RickyJo looked down at her filthy hands, which were now also stained and sticky with berry juice.

"Do you have somewhere we could wash up a little first," she asked the woman. The woman stepped back and gestured over to a large steel kitchen sink. RickyJo had been hoping to be taken to a bathroom where she could speak to Merle privately, but that clearly wasn't going to be an option. She washed up in the sink anyway. Then a tall, thin man with shaggy brown hair came out and greeted them, leading them over to a table where he sat across from them. They had not been attacked or otherwise accosted yet, but RickyJo was getting a creepy feeling from these people anyway. Maybe they are just as scared and nervous as you are, she thought. Give them a chance. She lifted her backpack off and set it on the ground behind her. MJ woke up and started to fuss, so she unbuttoned her shirt to feed him.

"Well I guess that answers that question," the man blurted out. RickyJo looked at him, a confused look on her face. "I was wondering what you had been feeding that baby to keep it alive while you were on the road," the man explained. RickyJo gave the man a big fake smile. She wished he would stop staring at her tits and get to the point. He introduced himself and told them a little about the camp. "How long have you been out there on the road," he asked them. RickyJo looked at Merle to see if he wanted to answer but he made no move to speak. RickyJo was better with people than he was. When he opened his mouth, people tended to get offended. So he figured for now it was best to keep it shut. RickyJo stopped and thought about how to answer the question. She decided to stay close to the truth and give as little information as possible.

"We knew each other from before the turn," she started, "but we got separated while I was pregnant. We found each other again, but then our camp got attacked by another group. We made a run for it after that, and ended up here. We have been on the road a few weeks now, looking for a new camp." She figured that was enough for now. And most of it was true. Merle was surprised the man didn't ask anything about where the other camp was or how many people had been in the group that attacked them. Those were the kind of things the governor liked to find out from new people. Mary came out with two plates of food and set them down in front of them. This irritated RickyJo a little since the woman had been told they already ate. It just seemed a little pushy.

"After you eat I will give you a tour and find you somewhere you can stay for now," Gareth told them. Then he got up and went to speak quietly to Mary. RickyJo could not hear what they were saying. Merle was poking at the food on his plate. It was a large slab of meat and it just smelled off somehow. Plus he wasn't hungry, they had eaten dried jerky while they were walking and then filled up on raspberries. RickyJo was also poking at the food. She couldn't figure out what it was.

"Oh god," she whispered to Merle, "I think it's dog. I can't eat a freaking dog." Merle felt the same but he didn't want to make these people mad by refusing to eat what they had offered him. He grabbed the hanky RickyJo had used for the berries earlier. It was hanging out of her back pocket. Then he made sure no one was looking and he grabbed both pieces of meat and wrapped them up, depositing them quickly into his backpack. "Whatever that was, it smelled like ass," RickyJo added. She thought maybe the meat had been sitting around too long before they cooked it and the last thing she needed was to get food poisoning.

Gareth came back and smiled at them, taking their plates. RickyJo made sure to go into the kitchen and thank his mother, being sure to tell her how good the food was and how much they enjoyed it. Nothing like laying it on thick, Merle thought. Thats why he let her do the talking. Martin was still standing by the counter, eating out of the bowl of raspberries. There was a young woman there with short dark hair that looked like she had cut it herself. RickyJo smiled at her, but the girl just looked away like she didn't see her. RickyJo shrugged it off and grabbed her bag, swinging it onto her shoulder.

They followed Gareth through what seemed like a maze of rooms. This place was huge inside, it had not looked this big from the road. When they got to where he was taking them it took RickyJo a second for her mind to register what her eyes were seeing. It looked like some kind of large kitchen, but with a bathtub in the middle of the room. Finally she noticed what they had been brought here to see. Human remains that were clearly in the process of being butchered were laying on a metal table. She grabbed for Merle's arm to make sure he wasn't taking his gun out. There was no doubt in her mind that if either of them freaked out over this, all three of them would be next on the dinner plate. Gareth had obviously brought them here as some kind of test. In fact he was staring at them right now to see what they were going to do. She turned to him, keeping her voice as calm and even as she could.

"Are you going to kill us now?," she asked him plainly. He shook his head.

"We want you to join us," he explained, "but I wanted you to know what you were getting yourselves into first." RickyJo kept her grip on Merle's arm. Then she turned to him and gave him a look that he knew meant for him to play along.

"I told you that food smelled like ass," she said to him. When she heard Gareth laughing, she knew they were safe, at least for now.

The End


	34. Epilogue

Epilouge

Present Day

6 Months Later

Daryl was leaning over the bathtub, hands tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth. He had just watched four people he didn't know get slaughtered like pigs in front of him. It was really going to fucking suck for it to end like this after everything they had been through. He wasn't sure what the worst thing had been, watching the Governor chop Shane's head off in front of the prison, or having his brother ditch him and take off with the only woman he had ever loved. Losing Beth had been pretty bad too, but at least she might still be alive somewhere. He closed his eyes and thought about RickyJo and the time they went to Mexico together. How soft her skin was and the soft sweet noises she had made when he was inside her.

When he opened his eyes, he thought he really must be losing his damn mind. Or maybe he was already dead because she was standing in front of him, holding a baby that looked to big to be MJ, but must be him since he had the same crazy red hair. She was talking to that man that had come in to ask Rick about where he buried that bag.

"They can wait a minute," she said, casually gesturing to the men tied up in front on the tub, "You have got to see this." Gareth laughed and told her alright, to go ahead and show him. She set the baby down next to the tub, so he could grip the edge to steady himself. Then she backed up and squatted down to start calling him. Everyone was looking at the baby so she finally made eye contact with Daryl, holding up her finger to her mouth to warn him to be quiet and pretend he didn't know her. Then she called to the baby, "Come on Emmie, come here to momma." The little guy looked reluctant at first so she clapped her hands to encourage him. He let go of the tub and closed the few steps between them, then squealed in delight as he was swept up into his mother's arms She was kissing him and telling him what a good baby he was. Enjoying all the attention, he started clapping his hands. Gareth came over and held his arms out for the baby. Of course MJ wasn't going to him, he gripped his mother tightly. Gareth laughed.

"He knows who he likes, doesn't he?," Gareth asked.

"You know he let your mom hold him yesterday for a whole thirty seconds before he started screaming," she told him with a laugh. Daryl thought her laugh sounded funny. She was faking it with these people. Maybe stalling to try and help him. RickyJo turned and looked at the men tied up in front of the tub, being careful not to let her real emotions show.

"None of them wanted to join up huh?," she asked Gareth.

"No," he said, " these are the ones that got Alex killed. RickyJo tried not to think about how Alex was dead on the table behind them. It was all just absolutely fucking sickening. She put her hand on her hip, cocking it out.

"That is one damn sad sorry shame," she said. Gareth laughed.

"See something you like honey?," he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, "look how cute that one is." She pointed at Daryl. RickyJo would kill everyone in here and beat Gareth's head into a bloody pulp with one of those bats before she even let him think about touching Daryl, but if she could do things this way, it would be easier. Easier and safer. But she knew Merle was outside the room with a very large gun in case this didn't work. She turned to Gareth and stuck out her bottom lip, making a little pouty face.

"I thought I told you no more pets," he reminded her. While the group had rules against rape, he sometimes let RickyJo have a particular man or woman that she wanted. None of them had ever complained about whatever it was that she did to them. And when she got bored with them, most had been more than happy to join their camp as productive members. What he didn't know was she never did anything sexual to any of them, instead she talked them into joining her. She was building her own army within the group and when she had enough people, they were going to take over and kill these cannibal freaks.

"You know it is my birthday next week," she said. He laughed some more. She had tried that same line on him last time. Really, he would be happy to give her the man, but he was worried these men might be dangerous. Merle would have his ass if anything happened to her. She walked over and poked at Daryl's arms. "You know he is going to be all gamey anyway," she said, "look how muscular he is." She looked over at Gareth. He was smiling and shaking his head at her. Then he tossed his hands up in the air.

"Okay okay," he said, "have him. If your husband gets mad about this I had nothing to do with it, you hear me RickyJo." She ran over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you Gareth," she said in a flity little sing song voice. Then she walked around the tub and told one of the guys back there to drag Daryl back away from it. The man gripped him by the ties that were around his legs and yanked hard. "Don't damage the merchandise," she told the man, shooing him away. Then she sat down in front of him on the edge of the tub, crossing her long legs and setting the baby on her lap. Rick was calling her name through the gag. If he gave away that he knew her, he was going to get them all killed, the fucking idiot. "Shut your fucking mouth right now," she told him. Hopefully he got the hint. Then she turned her attention back to Daryl. She would like to hurry up and untie him, but she needed to make this look good.

"So this is how this is going to work," she said, leaning forward and pulling his gag down. "I am going to untie you and take you back to my room. And if you behave nicely, then you don't have to die today. But if you try anything, I am going to make whats happening here look like a pleasant dream to you. You understand me?" Daryl nodded.

"Whatever you want lady," he said, "just get me out of here." Now Daryl was worried about his friends. It was obvious to him that RickyJo was going to help him, but he wasn't sure if she meant to help them too, or let them die here. RickyJo motioned to the man that had yanked at Daryl's legs a moment before. The man stepped forward again and cut him loose from his restraints. Daryl stood up, rubbing at his wrists. RickyJo leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Merle's right outside so just play it cool," she whispered into his ear. Then she took his hand and led him out of the room, swinging the door shut behind them. He could hear some of the men laughing and whistling from inside. Then his brother was grabbing him up into a rough hug. RickyJo had tears in her eyes and then she was hugging him, squishing the baby between them. Merle could tell RickyJo was ready to loose it. She had been ready to loose it since they got to this terrible place and seeing Daryl almost get made into hamburger might be enough to send her over the edge.

"You were smooth in there baby," he told her, "just pull it together for a little longer because we are getting out of here today." She nodded and sucked up her tears, wiping at her nose. He handed her the carrier she used for MJ and she strapped him to the front of her. Then Merle handed Daryl his crossbow.

"RickyJo found your bow downstairs," he said, "thats how we knew you were here."

"Rick and Glen and Bob are still in there," Daryl hissed. He did not like the thought of his friends tied up in there.

"Just wait," Merle cautioned him, "they aren't going to do anything while Gareth is in there talking to them." Daryl turned with his bow when he saw two men hurrying towards them, but RickyJo put her hand on his arm to let him know they were friends. Merle put his finger up to his mouth, signalling for everyone to be quiet. Then he motioned for everyone to get back against the wall behind him. Daryl loaded an aroow into his bow, and RickyJo pulled a handgun out of the back of her pants and handed it to him. Then she tightened up the baby carrier and took her gun out its holster, turning the safety off. Merle could hear whatever conversation was going on in there was finishing up. Then Gareth came out. He saw the small group of people standing outside the door, looking at them with shock. Before he could even guess at what was going on Merle smashed him in the face with a gun and then used his arm sleeve to beat his head into a bloody mess. RickyJo had to grab him to make him stop hitting the man.

"Hes dead," she hissed, "enough." Daryl watched and wondered what that man had done to his brother. That was obviously personal. Suddenly there was a huge crash from outside. The building shook. Then a lot of screaming could be heard. Merle walked into the slaughter room.

"Holy shit," he said to the two men, "have you seen whats going on outside?" Both men turned towards the window and he shot them both right throught their heads in quick succession. Then Daryl and one of the men that had been hiding outside the room with them rushed over and cut everyone free. RickyJo went to the window and looked out.

"Which one were you in," she asked Daryl. He came over and pointed out the train car to her. There were walkers everywhere, and people shooting at them, not shooting very well either, Daryl noticed. Guess they were only good at killing live people around here. RickyJo pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and handed them to Daryl. "Lets go get them." Merle reached into a bag he was carrying and handed guns to Glen and Rick. Bob he wasn't so sure about.

"Hes with us," Daryl told his brother. Merle nodded and handed the man a gun. Then he tossed the rest of the bag to Rick for him to carry. Shooting was hard enough with only one hand, he didn't need to schlep the heavy gun bag too. He checked to make sure everyone was ready.

"You stay close, and stay behind me," he told RickyJo. She nodded. Then Merle headed out in the lead with everyone else following. He seemed to know where he was going, and led them to the door that was closest to where everyone else was still locked up in the train car. They ran quickly and quietly across the lot, taking out the walkers that were in their way. Then Daryl unlocked the car, yelling to everyone inside that it was him so he wouldn't get his eye stabbed out with a sharp stick.

Once they were out, they all headed towards the fence. The scariest part for RickyJo was having to hand MJ over the fence to Daryl before she climbed over. She quickly snatched him back and tucked him away in her carrier. Then they went for the buried gun bag. RickyJo watched as the compound was destroyed by the walkers. A large section was also on fire, and she guessed an explosion was what had caused the noise they heard upstairs. She hugged Sammie to her as tightly as she could while the guys dug up the bag and handed out weapons. Sammie grinned when she got her bow back, making RickyJo wish hers had not been left behind inside. And Sammie looked so grown up, almost like a real woman now. She also saw Carl was standing protectively close to the girl, which made RickyJo happy.

With the guns distributed, they started out to get as much distance as possible between them and Terminus. As they walked, Daryl noticed RickyJo beside him. She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. For the first time in a long time, he felt himself smiling. She smiled back, the scars on her face much less noticeable than the last time he saw her. Then she turned to look at Merle, who was walking on the other side of her. They were in the woods, running from cannibals and undead flesh eating monsters. They had no supplies, very little ammo and no water. But a serene and contented feeling washed over her all the same. She didn't know how she knew but she just knew. Now that they were all together again, everything was going to be alright.

 **** Thanks to everyone for reading and for the reviews. ****


	35. Preview of Here to Stay

**** This is a preview chapter from Here to Stay.****

Jessica

After she left the campground, Jessica tried her hardest not to pick up her phone and call Daryl. Her resolve lasted about five whole minutes before she had him on the phone calling him every dirty name she could think of. He hung up, so she called him back and left some more insults on his voice mail. She had could not remember the last time she had gotten this mad at a man.

"Mommy," her younger daughter Desiree asked her from the backseat, "what's a stupid bastard." Jessica swore again under her breath. Now she owed like twenty quarters to the swear jar. She had been trying to stop swearing in front of her daughters after the school called her and let her know that her daughter had been using some of her more choice words in class. Cassie was laughing.

"Its just a mean name to call someone," Cassie told her sister.

"Then why were you saying it to Uncle Daryl?," Desiree asked. She loved both her uncles, but Daryl was her favorite. He went with her Aunt Ricky to take them to the zoo. And when she was scared to go in with the petting zoo goats, he had grabbed them by the horns and dragged them over so she could pet them through the fence. Jessica sighed.

"I am just mad at Uncle Daryl because he wasn't being very nice to your Aunt Ricky," Jessica explained, hoping that would end the conversation. Of course with Des answers always just led to more questions.

"Why was he being mean to Aunt Ricky?," Desiree asked. Jessica loved her daughters, but sometimes they made her want to tear her hair out.

"Why don't you ask him next time you see him," Jessica suggested to the girl. This seemed to satisfy the girl for now, although there would probably be more questions later. Jessica watched her in the rearview mirror to make sure she had gone back to playing with her toys. Cassie was playing a video game on her phone. Her father had said he thought she was too young for a phone, so Jessica had made sure to go out and buy her one right away. That dick had never paid a dime of child support and then he wanted to come around with his new wife and new baby and try to act all high and mighty, telling her how to raise the girls he barely knew. Nope. Thanks for playing. Try again next time.

They were off again anyway, she had been sleeping with him again for a while when he first got married to his wife, but after she found out the woman was pregnant she had cut things off again. There were certain things that even she didn't do. And to think that asshole had been telling her he was leaving his wife for her. And then he had been going home and knocking her up. Well next time the only thing he was sticking in her was a fork, 'cause she was done. She had been a little insulted, but since she never invested much emotion in any man, she wasn't really that upset.

The traffic on the highway was really backed up, so she got off to take the back way home. She saw the accident that had caused the backup on her way. It looked like someone was going nuts on the side of the road and other people were trying to hold them down. Meth is bad for you, she thought with a laugh. Just ask Merle's crazy girlfriend. That bitch had looked at least twenty years older than she actually was. And Jessica was fairly sure that's where she had gotten the clap, even though a certain someone had tried telling her she must have got it from someone else and then given it to him. That made her laugh a little. It had not been funny at the time, but it was funny now. After that she had made him wrap it up for a while.

And RickyJo was alone with him, camping. Jessica wasn't sure if it was best to leave them alone together, but she had decided it was moderately better than leaving RickyJo alone. At least she wouldn't get hurt if Merle was with her. And maybe Daryl would be more likely to go if his brother was there. It was just that RickyJo seemed so sad. She had not seen her that sad in a long long time. Probably since Nana had been diagnosed with cancer. And sometimes when people were upset, they did things they normally wouldn't do. Just ask her, Jessica was the queen of bad decision making.

After the long drive back home, Jessica sent her girls to shower up and put their things away or in the laundry. Then she had a million work emails to go through. She had to call her assistant manager about a few of them. Then she got in the shower herself. After bathing in the campground facilities or washing up in the creek, the water felt good and she found herself under the warm spray with her hand between her legs thinking about what happened the night before. RickyJo had gone to bed in the camper with the girls and she had stayed up with Merle, laughing and drinking. Then they had gone down and skinny dipped in the creek and had a fuck in the grass. She was pretty sure thats where she had gotten most of the bug bites she had, but it had been totally worth it.

When she was done, Jessica washed the conditioner out of her hair and turned the water off. She put on her robe and wrapped her hair up in a towel. Heading in to check on her girls she saw they were on the computer. She could hear a lot of screaming coming from whatever they were watching.

"What is that?," she asked. Cassie better not be showing her sister things that she knew would give her nightmares again.

"Its all over YouTube," Cassie said, "it says the video is from South America." Jessica shooed them out of the way and sat down, then started the video over. Both girls hung over her shoulders to watch it again. There were people screaming and running. One man was biting another man until he started bleeding everywhere. You could see the curtians, so the video was obviously being taken by someone who was hiding inside. One man wandered into view looking bloody and terrible. He fell and looked like he was dying. He was bleeding a lot. Then he got back up and ran straight for the window, smashing through it with his face. There was a ton of screamming and then the video turned off.

"Online people are saying its the end of the world, that people are coming back from the dead," Cassie informed her mother.

"Online people are idiots," Jessica told her daughters, "its just a stupid hoax. A bunch of film students probably made it." Then she turned to Desiree, "Its not real she told her." And then to Cassie she said, "stop showing stuff like that to your sister." Both girls nodded, although the younger one still looked scared, so Jessica pulled her into her lap and held her, kissing her head and stroking her hair.

After she tucked her girls into bed, Jessica lay awake in her own bed. She had told the girls she knew the video was fake, but it had looked plenty real to her. Well, whatever it was, it was far away in another country, so it should be nothing she needed to worry about. Or thats what she told herself so she could sleep that night.


	36. Preview of Five Minute Window

****This story is picking up after RickyJo jumped Glenn and took off in the sports car he got out of Atlanta in. When she got to the roof, Merle was already gone. But what if she had gotten there 5 minutes earlier? In time to catch him before he fled the building? This will be a sort of through the mirror darkly version of Gone for Good. I put this chapter up here so people that followed Gone for Good would get the notification. But the rest will be in the story titled Five Minute Window. I hope you all enjoy.**

 **I own nothing from TWD, only my own OC and original parts of the story. Rated M for violence, sexual content and adult themes. ****

The car alarm was loud. The sound was deafening. Earth shattering. It was making her head pound and her ears ring. It was making it hard for her to think. Such a loud noise was making her want to panic. Panic and bail out on this stupid idea. Go back to camp and get Daryl. They could look for Merle together. She had been crazy to think taking off on her own was ever a good idea.

She saw the Woolworth building. Right where she knew it would be. But there were so many geeks. Too many. More than she would ever be able to take on. And the horrible noise of the car alarm was drawing them right to her. _Think of something quick or you are going to die._ The noise. There had to be a way she could use it to her advantage.

RickyJo slowed the car down. Watching for an alley that was not full to the brim with flesh eating cannibals. The next one had more dead in it than she would like. But it would have to do. She turned the car, sliding it between the buildings. Then she slammed the gas, running over the geeks that were stumbling around. For good measure, she backed up and ran them over again. Then she yanked up hard on the shifter, putting the car into park. RickyJo grabbed her pack, swinging it up onto her back as she leaped from the car.

The dead were starting to fill into the alley behind her, so there was no going back that way. She had to move forward. Down the alley and through a fence that someone had already slashed a hole in. Maybe Glenn the last time he was here. The car alarm was still blaring, but at least it wasn't right next to her now. Stabbing a geek that was on the other side of the fence, she thought about climbing a ladder. Maybe she could wait on the small platform until the noise from the car gathered most of the geeks away from her. But she wanted to get to Merle. She need to find him and make sure he was alright.

So instead of hiding and waiting, RickyJo fought her way through. Taking down geeks with her knife and her bow, it was easier than she thought since most of them were more interested in the loud sound of the car alarm then they were in a quiet girl ducking through the streets. She hit the side of the building she was looking for, feeling so excited that she almost wanted to kiss the graffiti covered brick. Instead she climbed.

Not looking down. That was the trick. Hand over hand, up the ladder. If her grip slipped, at least it would be the fall that killed her. Her ears were ringing, like she had just come out of one of the stupid rock concerts that Daryl liked to drag her to. The beat of her heart was pounding in her chest. It was hard to make out over the ring in her ears, but she swore she could hear someone screaming. A muffled scream, like the person had something in their mouth.

Merle's voice. She would know it anywhere. Even muffled through the belt he was biting down on. Her first thought was that he was being eaten. Devoured alive by those fucking monsters. Then she was afraid some other group came. Maybe they were hurting him or torturing him for information. If that was the case they were all going to die slow.

RickyJo hit the top of the ladder, her hands slick with sweat. She hauled herself over the edge, feeling like the weight of the world dropped off her shoulders as soon as her boots hit the solid cement of the rooftop.

"Merle!," she hollered for the man. She stopped, trying to listen for him. There was not a giant pack of walkers on the roof, so that was a good sign. And she didn't hear or see any other people around. "Merle!," she called for him again. Then she heard it. A weird grunting noise.

It was coming from over by a long set of pipes. She walked that way, an arrow drawn just in case. When she saw his boots sticking out from under the pipes, RickyJo forgot caution and ran for him. He was holding his wrist with one hand, rocking back and forth and moaning to himself. She blinked her eyes a few times, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

Where Merle's hand should be there was nothing but a bloody jagged stump. Some blood was spattered on the ground. Next to him there was a saw. A serrated saw, the kind a person might use to cut through a thick rope. There was blood on the saw. A loud noise next to her feet startled RickyJo, and she realized it was her bow and arrow. She had dropped them and let them clatter to the ground. A few inches away from the saw was Merle's severed hand.

When her hands hit the concrete roof, that's when she knew she had fallen down onto her knees. She felt her stomach cramp up and then she was emptying it's contents onto the roof next to her bow. She sat back, feeling stunned. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she stared at Merle. And he just stared back at her, like he wasn't sure she was real. He looked down at his severed hand and quickly looked back at RickyJo. Her eyes were full of pain and fear, and somehow it helped.

"Got to stop the bleeding," he said. There was nothing else to say. He had not expected her to come for him. Merle figured those chicken shits would tell her and Daryl that he got ate up or something. And even if they told the truth about leaving him here on the roof, he hadn't beleived that anyone would come for him. That anyone gave a shit about his sorry ass.

His words woke RickyJo up from her trance. She wiped at her mouth again, then got to her feet. Her hands shook at little when she grabbed for her bow. But when she touched him, they were soft and gentle. She stroked his face, just for a second, looking into his eyes. But thank god she was not looking at him like she pitied him. Merle could not have stood it. The shared pain and fear he could stomach. Then she got her elbow under his armpit and dragged him up onto his feet.

"Can you walk?," she asked. He nodded. His face was horribly red with sunburn, and his lips were dry and cracked. RickyJo stopped and got a bottle of water from the side pocket of her pack. Twisting off the cap, she held it to his lips so he could drink it without letting the pressure off his wrist. He gulped down a few swigs, then she put the bottle back. If he chugged down too much too fast it would just make him sicker.

She walked ahead of him, her bow drawn. Inside the building, she killed two walkers. She knew she had to find something to stop the bleeding. But she wasn't sure what she was even looking for. Medical supplies of some kind? A magic wand she could wave and put him back together? A really large bottle of superglue?

Merle found the pan and the cans of sterno fluid in a small kitchen area. The little cans that people used sometimes to keep food warm at a buffet. RickyJo stared at him for a few moments before she realized what he wanted to do. Cauterize his wound.

"No." That was all she could say. The thought of sticking a burning pan to the end of his bloody wrist was more than she could stomach. She put a hand to her middle, feeling like she was going to hurl again.

"If ya don't do it," he said, his voice dry and scratchy, "I'll bleed to fuckin' death RickyJo." She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a long slow breath in and blowing it out. When she opened her eyes, Merle could see the determination on her face. She got a lighter out of her pocket and lit the little cans of sterno. Then she held the small pan over the flame. The pan felt like it was taking forever to get hot. It was giving her too much time to think about what she was about to do. She spit on the pan to make sure it was hot enough to burn instantly. Her spit sizzled up like bacon grease.

"Look away," she said. She expected an argument, but Merle let her grab his forearm and turned his head away. She held his arm so tight that later there would be skinny little RickyJo sized fingerprint bruises on it in the shape of her hand. Then she pushed the hot pan hard against the bloody stump of his wrist.

She didn't know which was worse, the smell or the sound. Or the sight of Merle with tears in his eyes. Merle, who never cried. He must just be sweating with his eyes, she thought. The joke was so innapropriate, given the circumstances, that hysterical laughter almost started bubbling out of her like a volcano. But she bit down hard on her lip, tasting the tang of blood in her mouth.

Merle sat down on a ratty couch, holding his arm and trying no to pass out. RickyJo went to the window and looked out. The sound of the car alarm could still be heard, but through the glass it sounded further away. The walkers were drawn to the noise. Which left most of the streets clear. Their best chance to get out of this place would be if they left now.


End file.
